± 27 BC to 284 AD

The ancient Romans used the tablet for short-term storage. You can work the board with a pinion. The surface can then be smoothed again, so that it could be reused. Often it was loosely connected to a cover tablet and carried as a diptych.

The ancient historical model was used by archaeological knowledge. To emphasize the antique look, the Romans' writing tablet was kept in a practical cotton bag, which protects the writing board at the same time. As in ancient times, the object is made of natural materials and has an environmentally conscious quality.

For writing they used a pointed instrument, a stylus. A straight-edged spatula-like tool usually attached to the end of the stylus served as an eraser. The modern phrase "and clean slate" comes from the Latin phrase "tabula rasa".

In the first millennium BC, such tablets were used in Mesopotamia, Syria, and Palestine. Wax tablets were used until the 19th century for temporary company notes. They were the ideal solution for taking notes. Paper was very expensive in the Roman world. At that time, paper was still made from papyrus or parchment. The papyrus reed was woven to form a sheet and flattened to make a surface. Parchment is made of very thin layers of animal skin. Both were used for important documents and books.

Literacy was not for all Romans but allowed Romans to communicate with each other over greater distances. It gave them the opportunity for foreknowledge and were no longer dependent on their memory. Their writing allowed them to reach a wider audience than the spoken language. Thoughts, opinions, stories, and visions found more support.

± 80 to ± 120

Meter deep Roman wells were found in Roeselare in Belgium. Very well-preserved materials were found in the filling, including copper kettles, large pieces of pottery, millstone fragments, roof tiles, a rare rake, leather footwear, and other things.

The wells were largely made up of four corner posts against which oak planks were placed as a revetment. To prevent the well from collapsing under the pressure of the surrounding soil, especially shaped traverses had to prevent this. The fact that these wells were largely located under the permanent water table allowed all organic materials such as bone, leather, and wood to be exceptionally well preserved.

Based on the pottery, the wells were dated in the 1st to 3rd century AD. Over the years the wood dried out, cracked, and warped making its scientific potential negligible. These planks were therefore given a new purpose in our museum.

When people go to live somewhere, there is a need for drinking water. In the Roman period, water pits and wells were used. A water hole or pit was dug directly into the soil, without a shoring, usually to allow the cattle to drink.

Wells come in different shapes and sizes. They all have wooden facing or formwork. Good shoring in the well meant that for a long-time clean water could be extracted from it. Wells have been found with a sheet of wickerwork and a hollowed-out tree trunk. Most wells had a formwork of posts and boards at the bottom. The wells were dug relatively close to home.

When the wells fall into disuse, they often served as a dumping ground for some time. Shards, food scraps and other waste were thrown in. This explains why objects are found in a well during archaeological excavations.

± 1 to ± 200

Weaving is one of the oldest techniques for making a piece of fabric. The weft threads run in width from one side to the other side of the fabric. The warp threads run in the longitudinal direction. Little of that basic principle has changed over time. The loom does have changes.

The first loom is unknown, but it was set up horizontally. One of the oldest images can be found on a scale from Egypt of ± 4400 BC. Another type of loom, the weight loom, was mainly used in Europe. It was arranged vertically with the warp threads being tensioned by attaching them in bundles to weaving weights. The weaving weights could be made of stone or earthenware.

Almost nothing has been found of the oldest weight looms. The material has completely decayed. Only through special circumstances can materials such as wood, textiles, plants, and animal fibers be found through conservation. The oldest textile found dates from ± 10.000 BC in Peru. Remnants that have been found are weaving weights. Such remains were found in Ezingen, Haren and Emmen, in the Netherlands, among others. In settlements from the Iron Age and Roman period, objects related to the spinning of wool or the weaving of cloth are often found, such as these 4 weaving weights.

Weaving was a cottage industry, originally developed to meet its own needs. It could happen that the production exceeded its own needs, and the surplus could be exchanged with the neighbors or traders for other goods.

In Roman times, the European population was dressed in wool, linen and leather. Cotton from India was a rarity, and silk imported from China's Silk Road was an overly luxury.

± 200 to ± 300

Roman sculpture included portraits, busts, statues, groups of statues and torsos. The sculpture showed many similarities with the Greek, which they had looked up to for centuries. The Romans pursued realism rather than the idealism of the ancient Greeks. We certainly find this reflected in their portrait busts.

The ancient Romans used statues for religious significance, as well as for decoration in their home or garden. Originally bronze Greek statues were copied into marble by the Romans. Sometimes with an adjustment or addition. Bronze and marble are two different materials, each with their own properties. Many marble statues did not remain in the image and were therefore added a pole or trunk. 

The Romans were so fond of Greek art that they imported a lot. The current knowledge of Greek art is based on Roman, as much was lost by the shipment from Greece to Rome. Many Greek lots were later destroyed by Christians. 

Everyone knows the white marble statues of the Greeks and Romans. However, research has shown that the statues were regularly painted in cheerful colors. This emerged from an investigation with infrared. Even the Colosseum was partially painted. 

Pure marble was preferred, as it is now, but the state image was much more colorful then than we first deduced. The Romans loved facts and a correct representation of historical events. Public buildings, such as altars, triumphal arches and memorial columns, are proof of this. The sculptors depicted the event as a comic strip, of which Trajan's Column is a good example.