1,600-year-old Roman padlock with spring mechanism discovered in Germany -- and it's tiny

Live Science ^ | January 29, 2025 | Kristina Killgrove

[SunkenCiv]

The small gold lock mechanism discovered in northwest Germany

Image credit: LWL / S. Brentführer

[SunkenCiv]

[Gene Eric]

how is this possible before the Great Works

[lee martell]

“I found a Diary beneath a tree
And started reading about me...”

[SunkenCiv]

Heh... that’s one of the problems of A) keeping a diary in Roman times, and B) teaching Roman girlfriends how to read. /rimshot

[Lurker]

Lock Picking Lawyer needs this.

L

[Mogger]

Part of a chastity belt lock?

[Adder]

Nice detailed work...

[Strict9]

the Germans were geniuses and such a proud people until they were bombed and shamed out of existence

[Libloather]

[SunkenCiv]

Hey, Germans will pay good money for that. Wait, what?

[9YearLurker]

Could it not have been a later replica?

[SunkenCiv]

Replica of something from Roman times you mean?

[SunkenCiv]

Very nice work. Roman mechanical work was first rate. And yet, craftsmen of that kind were considered very low status. Same was true for people with handwriting skills (book publishing was done by hand copying originals), sculpting, and civil engineering.

[Varda]

Thanks for posting. Interesting, I’m always impressed by how advanced the Romans were and how their culture impacted the less advanced societies they occupied.

[hoosierham]

And English society looked down on those who actually worked for a living..and evidently still does.

In America our royal class is politicians and talentless “entertainers”.

I realize true artists work very hard.

[smokingfrog]

Impressive!

[Colt1851Navy]

That is a trigger lock for a crossbow because the smaller bow was considered a handgun.

[SunkenCiv]

My pleasure!

[SunkenCiv]

Speaking of replicas:

A large-scale replica of the Roman lock made out of steel and brass.

Image credit: LWL / S. Brentführer