Ancient Roman Joke Inscribed On A 2,000-Year-Old Pen – Discovered

Conny Waters - AncientPages.com - Ancient Romans had humor, no doubt about it. While vising London about 2,000 years ago they brought back a pen as a gift. The pen had a joke inscribed onto it, but was the gift and the joke appreciated?

The ancient Roman pen was discovered by archaeologists excavating in London, UK.

As CNN reports, “of 200 styluses found at a site under Bloomberg's new European headquarters, only one -- dating back to around 70 A.D. -- had a message inscribed onto it. “

Credit: Mola

It reads: "I have come from the City. I bring you a welcome gift with a sharp point that you may remember me. I ask, if fortune allowed, that I might be able (to give) as generously as the way is long (and) as my purse is empty."

What the person was really saying was simply- I'm broke, but here's a pen.

According to Museum of London Archaeology, which oversaw the dig, explained 'the City' referred to is very likely Rome.

“At this time Londinium lay near the edge of the Empire but, far from a being a provincial backwater, it had grown into an important centre for commerce and governance, interconnected with the wider Roman world," they added.

See also:

Is This The World’s Oldest Joke?

What Was Humor Like In The 13th Century?

Vikings Had Dark Humor And Joked Even During Deadly Battles

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"The stylus and its inscription highlights the crucial role that writing and literacy played in allowing traders, soldiers and officials to keep in contact with peers, friends and family, some of whom lived over a thousand miles away."

Written by Conny Waters - AncientPages.com Staff Writer