to third parties. Early methods of testament The earliest forms of Roman will were made at an assembly of the people called the comitia calata ("summoned assembly") which was held twice a year. Soldiers could also make a will before they went into battle, called a in procinctu ("with togas girded up"). Both of these methods had ceased to be used by the Late Republic. They were replaced by the testamentum per aes et libram ("the will made by bronze and scales"). This form of will rested on the legal fiction that the testator was formally conveying (mancipatio) his property to a trustee (familiae emptor, "buyer of the household") who would then convey it to the chosen heirs on his death. The act of conveyance had to be witnessed by a scale-bearer (libripens) and five other witnesses . Initially, the will was made orally, but written wills became common early. By the Late Republic, the actual ceremony was no longer carried out, although the term was still being used in the second century AD. From the second century BC, all that was required was a written will sealed by seven witnesses (signatores). Physical appearance Wills usually took the form of three wooden writing tablets (tabulae). One surface of each was covered with wax and a copy of the will was written on two of the tablets. The tablets were tied together, so that one copy was visible (scriptura exterior) and the other was not (scriptura interior). The seals of the witnesses were placed over the cord, so that it was impossible to open the tablet and view the inner copy without breaking the seals. This design was intended as a guarantee against tampering. This form was mandated by the senatus consultum Neronianum of AD 61, but it was probably the usual form before that. Designating heirs To be valid, a will had to name an heir or heirs (heres or heredes). These could be designated using the phrases "Be thou, so-and-so my heir" or "I order that so-and-so be my heir" (Titius heres esto or Titium heredem esse iubeo). Any other phrase, like "I wish that so-and-so be my heir" or "I make so-and-so my heir" (Titium heredem esse volo or Titium heredem facio), would not be valid. If there was no valid heir then the whole will would fail, including legacies left to people other than the heir. Under