Wax tablet notebook with inscribed Latin textLWL/S. Brentführer
Posted on 05/28/2026 5:37:24 AM PDT by SunkenCiv
La Brújula Verde reports that a German archaeological team under the supervision of the Landschaftsverband Westfalen-Lippe (LWL) recovered an exceptionally well-preserved notebook from a medieval toilet in the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The discovery was made during construction of a new administrative headquarters in the city of Paderborn. The four- by three-inch book contains 10 wooden tablet pages coated in wax, onto which the object's owner etched writing using a metal or bone stylus. The volume was also carefully protected by a leather cover that was stamped with motifs of lilies. Although experts have not yet translated any of the passages, the text was written in Latin in a cursive handwriting that can be stylistically dated to the thirteenth or fourteenth century. The use of Latin suggests that the notebook's owner may have belonged to the literate upper echelon of medieval German society. It is possible that a wealthy merchant used it to make short notes on commercial transactions and to record personal reflections before being accidentally dropped into the latrine. In the future, experts are hoping to examine documents in the city's historical archives that might be able to link the property to a specific landowner. To read about sanitation management in medieval Holland, go to "Letter from Leiden: Of Cesspits and Sewers."
(Excerpt) Read more at archaeology.org ...
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Wax tablet notebook with inscribed Latin textLWL/S. Brentführer
Eww.
I bet you’re reading this story on your phone. Don’t drop it.
The Medieval equivalent of your cellphone falling into the toilet............
“Here I sit, broken hearted...”
It’s my grocery list. I was more concerned about my cell phone. It dropped in a d before I could retrieve it the self flushed thingy sucked it away.
It really is amazing how the more things change the more they stay the same.
“For a good time, call Helga...”
Medieval multitasking gone wrong.
And we thought having our mobile phones fall in was expensive, books cost the Earth back then.
Page 6: "I guess I shouldn't have eaten that mutton that was on the counter for three days..."
I lost a notebook in 7th grade. I hope that’s not it and somebody dug through a toilet to find it.
GMTA!
Was it a Lenovo or an HP?
Beat me was gonna ask if they found my phone 😂
“ I bet you’re reading this story on your phone. Don’t drop it.”
LOL. My big fear is pit toilets. My phone stays FAR away from that big yawning hole. I carry it in my right rear pocket and I often find it laying on the floor when I pull up my pants. It going into that dark hole is the thing nightmares are made of.
“…10 wooden tablet pages coated in wax, onto which the object’s owner etched writing using a metal or bone stylus”
Wow, the thing people had to do before mass produced paper was invented!
"Those who write in bathroom stalls,
Roll their Scheiße in little balls,
Those who read those words of wit,
Eat those little balls of Scheiße
Apparently there were originally 11 pages, but poor Hans was short on leaves and moss that day and in the ensuing chaos…
LOL. I was about to write the same thing.
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