Download PDF Abstract The article is devoted to the problem of representation of the Roman laws of XII tables (leges XII tabularum) in the modern educational and scientifi c literature. The article focuses on the problem of exterior of laws of the XII tables. This issue cannot be resolved satisfactorily. Modern authors believe that the tables were made of copper, bronze, wood or marble. As a rule, the authors of textbooks generally followed by his predecessors, choosing the version according to their own taste. They often reproduce the concepts of a few Russian-language works about Roman laws. The diversity of opinions of this minor issue makes us pay attention to the sources, since this is the only way to verify the reliability and validity of modern points of view. Ancient authors also disagree on the question about the external form of Laws. They report about copper (aes, χαλχας), wood (ligno), ivory (eboreae), but not bronze, marble or the copper column. The author of the article believes that none of the ancient authors saw the Laws in their original form and described them based on their own understanding and current realities of roman life. Information of ancient authors directly contradict each other. In this regard, Russian legal scientists created a hypothesis of evolutionary changes external form of Laws. In general, B.V. Nikolskiy formed this concept. Then L.L. Kofanov completed it in his works. The advantage of this hypothesis is that it can reconcile confl icting evidence from different authors, combining them in a single system. At the same time, the lack of clear information in narrative sources and the complete absence of archaeological material makes this hypothesis no more than a set of assumptions that require more signifi cant evidence. The author using the information of Odofred, the Italian glossator of the 12th century. The author concludes that the Laws were carved in stone. At the same time, the lack of sources, both narrative and archaeological, does not allow to insist on this hypothesis. The points of view of textbook authors refl ect the current situation in historiography. The main reason is the incompleteness and inconsistency of authentic sources. According to the author, the complex of problems related to the leges XII tabularum should be more deeply and in detail covered in university textbooks on history and law. Keywords Roman history, laws of XII tables, Roman law, ancient tradition.