instrumentum domesticum

{{short description|Tools for ordinary domestic use}}

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File:Roman strigils of Bronze one has a name stamped on the handle Wellcome M0014797.jpg strigils (scrapers for body cleansing with sand and oil) in bronze. One has a name on the handle, the other is decorated with a grotesque mask.]]

In archaeology, instrumentum domesticum (or simply instrumentum) refers to instruments, tools, and other artifacts intended for ordinary and domestic use (as opposed, for instance, to objects with religious, ceremonial, or monumental purposes). It also includes replicas of such objects made to be deposited in graves.Giuseppe Pucci (2001): "Inscribed instrumentum and the ancient economy"; {{doi|10.4324/9780203086445}}. Chapter 6 of Ancient History From Inscriptions: Ancient History From Inscriptions, edited by John Bodel. Routledge; 272 pages {{isbn|9780203086445}}Robin George Collingwood (1995): The Roman Inscriptions of Britain: Instrumentum domesticum (Personal belongings and the like). Graffiti on coarse pottery cut before and after firing, Stamp on coarse pottery, Addenda and corrigenda to fascicules 1-8 (RIB 2502-2505), Volume 2, Part 8. Published by Administrators of the Haverfield Bequest; 165 pages. {{isbn|9780750909167}}(2019) "instrumentum domesticum", article in the Italian Wikipedia. Accessed on 2019-04-26 The name is Latin for "domestic instruments", a term originally defined by Roman Law.

In epigraphy and paleography, the term refers to inscriptions that were written on such objects at or near the time of their use. In this sense, it also includes inscriptions in oracular objects (like the sortes of the Romans), talismans, and personal spells (like the Roman and Greek curse tablets). It does not however include objects whose function was to carry text, such as writing tablets and books.