Re:Early Bookcases, Cupboards and Carousels
by dredmorbius on Friday August 02, 2024 @04:44PM
(#41142468)
Scrolls were stacked horizontally on a shelf or stored upright in a cylindrical book-box (capsa), which was fitted with a lid and straps for carrying (the scrinium was a larger container). According to Pliny, the only wood suitable for such capsae was beech, which could be thinly-cut (XVI.lxxxiii.229). If particularly valuable, rolls might be wrapped in a protective sleeve and tied with thongs....
<https://penelope.uchicago.edu/~grout/encyclopaedia_romana/sc...>