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Britain’s Oldest Hand-Written Document Found

steveng · · 1 min read

Archeologists from Museum of London Archeology (MOLA) have discovered a large stash of Roman waxed writing tablets while excavating the site of the new Bloomberg headquarters. One of these is now officially the oldest handwritten document ever found in Britain.

“We found over four hundred writing tablets, more than doubled the number we have from London,” says Sophie Jackson, Director of Client Relations at MOLA.

This trove of ancient artifacts includes the first records of London’s commercial activity and, best of all, one tablet dating from 65 to 70AD, contains an address that includes the word “Londinio.” This is the very first mention of London ever in history.

This Bloomberg writing tablet bears the inscription "Londinio Mogontio" That's 'In London, to Mognotius,' which is, presumably, a name.
This Bloomberg writing tablet bears the inscription “Londinio Mogontio” That’s ‘In London, to Mognotius,’ presumably, a name. (c) MOLA

See the video from Bloomberg below to find out more about this discovery and how it is being deciphered.

Source: MOLA