This elegant iron stylus, dating back to the Roman era, approximately from 180 to 220 AD, was discovered during excavations conducted by the archaeological section of the Winchester Museum Service on Victoria Road, Winchester, in the mid to late 1970s.
The stylus exhibits several distinctive features, including two collars and circumferential inlaid brass bands that separate the shank from the tip and the eraser. During this period, paper was a costly commodity, so writing was commonly done on wax-coated wooden boards, known as "wax tablets." These tablets were made by stapling together wooden leaves and then covering them with wax, providing a reusable surface for writing.
The existence of such writing instruments like this stylus in archaeological contexts suggests a level of literacy and the practice of writing in the region during the Roman period. Literacy in Britain evolved gradually, with initial evidence seen in inscriptions on Iron Age coins, reflecting contact with the classical world. By the end of the second or early third century, when this stylus was crafted, literacy had become widespread. Writing was not limited to specific settings like villas or tribal capitals but was found across various types of settlements, underscoring the prevalence of literacy during this time.