10-16-2007, 10:09 PM
I've been löooking for that kind of thing for a while myself, but as of now can only offer informed speculation.
Firstly, documents are sometimes found in bundles, like the Babatha archive was tied together, wrapped in cloth and inside a leather bag. While it is possible this reflects emergency measures, it doesn't suggest that to me. I could imagine important papers kept that way (the handy size of many papyri says 'box' to me, but that may just be the modern reaction)
SEcondly, wax tablets were used for more than just hasty scribbles. They are not just the dictaphone of the ancient world, but also its semipermanent recordkeeping system (some were found locked away in a chest holding long-term loan contracts, presumably until fulfilment). So any instruction, order, or information required in the days-to-.months timeframe is well placed on them, transferred to papyrus or ostraca only when needed for long-term storage. It's not just writing, either; we know from a medieval source that a draughtsman could capture a plan (in this case of the Holy Sepulchre) on a wax tablet, so I don't think this beyond the abilities of a Roman engineer.
Thirdly, rolls are a very versatile instrument. You can add to them at will, store them in capsae or on shelves, and read them in chronological order. The English tax archives were kept on rolls until the thirteenth century. So for a permanent set of records, a roll makes sense, not least because it was a familiar format that people had places to store and containers to carry.
While I am sure that wooden boards to use for writing on existed in the Roman period, I know of no finds. Depictions almost always see to show wax tablets, sometimes in rather large sizes (there's a huge one on the Altar of Domitius Ahenobarbus). Given we have depictions and finds both from earlier (Pharaonic and Persian Egypt) and later (high medieval) times, I suspect wax tablets were indeed the more common implement.
A document carrier as you describe existed in the medieval period and scores of them survive (by an accident of art) under the name 'biccherna tables'. You can let yourself be guided by their construction (leather hinges and straps), but I have yet to see anything comparable in the ancient period. That said, I wouldn't be surprised, it's a pretty obvious idea.
Firstly, documents are sometimes found in bundles, like the Babatha archive was tied together, wrapped in cloth and inside a leather bag. While it is possible this reflects emergency measures, it doesn't suggest that to me. I could imagine important papers kept that way (the handy size of many papyri says 'box' to me, but that may just be the modern reaction)
SEcondly, wax tablets were used for more than just hasty scribbles. They are not just the dictaphone of the ancient world, but also its semipermanent recordkeeping system (some were found locked away in a chest holding long-term loan contracts, presumably until fulfilment). So any instruction, order, or information required in the days-to-.months timeframe is well placed on them, transferred to papyrus or ostraca only when needed for long-term storage. It's not just writing, either; we know from a medieval source that a draughtsman could capture a plan (in this case of the Holy Sepulchre) on a wax tablet, so I don't think this beyond the abilities of a Roman engineer.
Thirdly, rolls are a very versatile instrument. You can add to them at will, store them in capsae or on shelves, and read them in chronological order. The English tax archives were kept on rolls until the thirteenth century. So for a permanent set of records, a roll makes sense, not least because it was a familiar format that people had places to store and containers to carry.
While I am sure that wooden boards to use for writing on existed in the Roman period, I know of no finds. Depictions almost always see to show wax tablets, sometimes in rather large sizes (there's a huge one on the Altar of Domitius Ahenobarbus). Given we have depictions and finds both from earlier (Pharaonic and Persian Egypt) and later (high medieval) times, I suspect wax tablets were indeed the more common implement.
A document carrier as you describe existed in the medieval period and scores of them survive (by an accident of art) under the name 'biccherna tables'. You can let yourself be guided by their construction (leather hinges and straps), but I have yet to see anything comparable in the ancient period. That said, I wouldn't be surprised, it's a pretty obvious idea.
Der Kessel ist voll Bärks!
Volker Bach
Volker Bach
