Wood was a convenient material for military tallies, hill-station slips and other ephemeral documents for military administration. Where there is water — above or underground — there are thriving woods among the desert sands, consisting mainly of poplar. But the fact that Stein's finds included many woodslips which had been recycled into everyday objects suggests that supplies of wood were limited — or at least reserved for the documents and other military needs. Cat. nos. 110 and 111 show woodslips fashioned into a spatula and knife. Cat. no. 112, with a rounded burned end is possibly eighth-century toilet 'paper'.
Ink on wood
The British Library,
IOL Tib N 1407 (M.Tagh.0595)
IOL Tib N 693 (M.I.xiv.97)
IOL Tib N 1096 (M.I.lviii.008)