Small piece of natural sea sponge tied on the end of a wooden stick. The stick has a loop of leather at one end.

Toilet paper did not exist in Roman times so the Romans used a "spongia" instead. This was a sea sponge attached to a long stick. Roman public toilets consisted of a long marble bench with holes at the top (to sit on) and holes at the front - for the sponge sticks. Most Romans wore long tunics, with men’s reaching the knees and women’s being longer, and probably nothing underneath so it was easy to use toilets communally. You would sit on the toilet, (possibly chatting to friends) and when you were finished you would push the spongia through the hole at the front, wipe your bottom, rinse it in the channel of running water by your feet and leave it in a basin for the next person to use!