Tessera

Tessera (Latin tessera) was a small object carrying written or conventional meaning: a tablet, token, password, pass, accounting mark or gaming piece. In Rome the word was not limited to one form. A tessera could be a wax writing tablet, lead or bronze token, bone slip with a number, clay label or short access sign.

In a military setting tesserae are especially connected with passwords, guard duty and the transmission of brief service information. The office of the tesserarius took its name from this word; he was responsible for receiving and passing on the password within a unit.

Part of a stele to Annaius Daverzus with a tessera,a military man from cohors IIII Delmatarum. Early 1st century AD

Tombstone of Gaius Valerius Valens,centurion of the VIII Augustan Legion,carrying a set of tesserae. 1st century AD Archaeological Museum,Corinth,Greece.

Fragment of the tombstone of the flag bearer-Signifer Oklatiya from the cavalry Ala of the Africans with a set of tesserae. Neuss,Germany. 1st century AD

Meanings of the word tessera

The meaning of a tessera depends on a combination of features: material, form, inscription, image, number and find context. A round lead token, elongated bone slip, wooden tablet and clay seal can all be called by the same Latin word, but belong to different practices.

A tessera is not the same as a coin, although it can be coin-like; not the same as a mosaic tessera, although the word is shared; not always a ticket, although it could function as a pass; not always a writing tablet, although it is connected with short writing. The shared principle is a small carrier of right, memory, accounting, password or conventional sign.

Army, city and accounting

The spread of tesserae shows practical literacy in the Roman army and city. A short note or conventional sign helped record property, distribute duties, confirm a right to rations, entry, a place, service or participation in an event. This was not the monumental writing of stone inscriptions, but the everyday technique of administration.

In the army a tessera could be connected with password, guard duty and transmission of orders; in the city with games, distributions, access, trade or accounting. The same principle of a short sign worked in different spheres because it quickly connected a person with a duty, right or confirmation.

Archaeological forms and contexts

Finds of tesserae make the most sense in context. In a military setting a tessera could be connected with password, guard duty, a short order or an accounting mark; on reliefs it belongs beside a centurion, signifer or tesserarius rather than as an isolated "ticket". In urban contexts similar small objects could serve as passes, distribution tokens, gaming pieces, commodity marks, debt confirmations or signs of participation in an event.

Lead and bronze tokens form a separate group. They may look coin-like in size and shape, but they were usually not state coinage. They are marked by conventional images, numerals, short inscriptions and private or local series.

Bone and ivory tesserae lusoriae with names, numerals and perforations were long described as theatre tickets, but are now more often linked with gaming, counting or seat allocation. Eastern parallels include Palmyrene banqueting tesserae: small clay tokens from religious and urban contexts of Palmyra, recording participation or a right to an action.

Bone tessera lusoria with inscription and numeral: obverse. BnF/Gallica, public domain.

The same bone tessera lusoria: reverse. Such objects are usually linked with gaming or counting, but their function is debated.

Materials and manufacture

Material shaped possible function. A wax tablet was made for reusable writing: the surface could be smoothed and used again. A wooden or clay label suited a short service note, tag, accounting mark or temporary identifier. Lead was cheap and easy to cast, making it suitable for mass tokens; bronze was stronger and more prestigious, but more expensive. Bone and ivory allowed thin elongated pieces with neat engraving, numerals, names and perforations for a cord.

Without material and context, a tessera is easily confused with a coin, game counter, accounting token, label or writing implement. A lead token, wax tablet and bone tessera lusoria therefore belong to one broad group of small signs, but are interpreted through different archaeological features.

Lead tessera from Hadrianic Alexandria: an example of a token with image and reverse. Photo: Marcus Cyron, CC BY-SA 3.0.

Images and written culture

In visual sources a token tessera has to be distinguished from a wax writing tablet. Roman portraits and frescoes often show a person with a stylus and diptych: an image of literacy, education, accounting or business writing. This iconography shows the environment in which a short note, name, numeral, password, right or sign had to be read and understood.

Not every tablet held by a figure is a tessera in the narrow sense. The Pompeian woman with stylus illustrates written culture, not a token. Fayum portraits require the same caution: Hermione Grammatike from Hawara is important as an image of an educated woman in Roman Egypt, not as a direct image of a tessera. Archaeological objects are stronger evidence for tesserae themselves, while portraits provide context for literacy and status.

Pompeian fresco of a woman with wax tablet and stylus. This is not a token tessera, but an important visual parallel for written culture. Photo: Carole Raddato, CC BY-SA 2.0.