Britain’s ‘Oldest Handwritten’ Tablets Found in London

It’s the first generation of Londoners communicating with the present.

These tablets were preserved in the mud of Walbrook stream. (Photo: AP)

Archaeologists say they have discovered the oldest handwritten document ever found in Britain among hundreds of 2,000-year-old waxed tablets from Roman London.

The Museum of London Archaeology experts say they found more than 400 wooden tablets during excavations in London’s financial district, for the new headquarters of Bloomberg.

So far 87 have been deciphered, including one addressed “in London, to Mogontius” and dated to 65-80 CE – the earliest recorded reference to the city, which the Romans called Londinium. Another is dated 8 January, 57 CE –€” Britain’s earliest dated hand-written document.

Archaeologist Sophie Jackson said the find was “hugely significant” as the first generation of Londoners are speaking to the present. The tablets were preserved in the wet mud of the Walbrook,€” then a river, which is now a buried stream.