About
What an incredible object! You may have heard of a Swiss Army Knife, it is a pocket knife with many tools attached to it. This is a similar kind of thing, but Roman instead of Swiss.
This one dates to about 200 – 300 AD, so about 1,600 years before the modern Swiss Army Knives were designed. As you can see, the design has hardly changed. As well as a knife, spoon and a fork, this one has a spike, a pick and a spatula. The spike might have been used to get the meat from snails and the pick might have been used as a sort of tooth pick.
The fact that this knife is made of Silver suggests it was a luxury item and might have been owned by a wealthy traveller or a general in the Roman army.
Things to think about…
- Why do you think a multi-tool like this would have been useful?
- Can you imagine what the person who owned this would have been like?
Also, if you’re interested in the Roman Army, then you might like to see a Roman Helmet found near Kent.