Roman Ear Cleaner, pliers excavated in England

Archaeologists excavating a bridge construction site in Ebbsfleet Garden City in southwest London recently discovered a collection of artifacts that make the inhabitants of the Roman Empire a little less grandiose and much more human: the discovery, essentially the equivalent of the elderly modern care set a tool for cleaning the ears and tweezers.

As Chris Hunter reports for Kent Online, the articles were among several discoveries near the new Springhead Bridge. Tweezers of about 2000 years are remarkably similar to modern tweezers. The ear cleaner from the years 1600 to 2000, however, looks like a Q-Tip, but is made entirely of metal.

The investigators also found a piece of wood that was probably thrown into the river by a person traveling on a Roman barge, as well as pottery fragments from Saxon times. The wood is currently conserved by specialists in wax. This process can take up to a year.

At the moment nobody knows where the Roman toiletries will end, but Julia Gregory, Project Manager at Ebbsfleet Development Corporation, expects the artifacts to remain nearby.

"Ebbsfleet Garden City and its surroundings have a fascinating history," says a Gregory press release , "and although the work continues to document the artifacts found here, it would be good to have them permanently resident here in Garden City, at some point in the future "

The region has more than enough history to fill a museum: According to Hunter, a colony called Vagniacis was at the height of Roman Britain. The Ebbsfleet River, now the site of the bridge where the items were found, served to connect Watling Street , an important Roman road and trade route, with the Thames. During the fourteenth century, today's Ebbsfleet was a stopover for pilgrims traveling to Canterbury, and in recent centuries the area has served as an important location for shipping and growing wells.

Apart from Ebbsfleet's own story, the results underline the Romans' obsession with beauty and hygiene. Cleanliness and style were for the old status symbols, which distinguished them from many other cultural groups in Europe. It has been said that hairy or unruly hair, as well as poor hygiene, badly reflect an individual's internal condition.

By Susan Stewart of History Today , Roman women had an extremely high standard of beauty. They spent a lot of time and energy searching for perfect skin, perfect hair and the most flattering make-up. Items like tweezers and improvised Q-tips have probably played a role in these beauty routines.

The men were also subjected to a high level, reports the University of Kent . Some, including Emperor Augustus, shaved everyday. Others have their hair removed with tweezers. Nevertheless, there were limits to acceptance: armpit hair was fine by old sources, but leg hair was considered too feminine.

In any case, tweezers seem to be as symbolic of Rome as the imperial eagle .

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