14 DAY TRIAL // Archaeologists carrying out excavations close to the city of Istanbul in Turkey claim to have found a peculiar object that they say is best described as the forefather of modern tablet computers folks seem unable to get enough of these days.
Specialists who have had the chance to examine the device say that, as far as they can tell, the object used to serve as both a notebook and a tool, Live Science informs.
Thus, its owner is believed to have used the overlaying rectangular panels covered with wax to take notes of things they needed to remember, the same source explains.
Small weights tucked away inside a hidden plate, on the other hand, probably served as an assay balance used to determine the makeup of various materials, especially ore and alloys.
Information shared with the public says that this 1,200-year-old equivalent of a tablet computer was found among the remains of as many as 37 sunken ships.
The device is said to be a Byzantine invention and to sport several decorations. All things considered, it probably used to belong to one of the captains of the 37 sunken vessels whose remains archaeologists are now studying.
Its size is similar to that of a 7-inch (about 17.8 centimeters) tablet computer, except that this device is a tad thicker than what modern individuals are used to carrying around with them.