Roman-era ink reveals surprising chemical complexity
2000-year-old residue indicates the Romans wrote with iron-gall inks hundreds of years earlier than expected
Archaeologists excavating the remains of a Roman city in Portugal have discovered a rare bronze inkwell filled with the residue of 1st century Roman ink, revealing the ink had a chemical complexity not expected for hundreds of years.
The inkwell was unearthed in early 2023 during work to stabilise an ancient defensive wall at the Conímbriga archaeological site near the modern Portuguese city of Coimbra. It is made in the distinctive rare style of ‘Biebrich’ inkwells, which are named after the site of a Roman military camp in Germany where the first was found in the late 19th century.