Evidence for Ancient Movable Type Printing

[D B Campbell]

Does anyone have an example of "raised type" pipes?

I would love to have a pic. Which authorities could we possibly turn to, a curator of some museum for ancient / Roman history?

At last, I have found an example (CIL XV, 7285):

The raised lettering suggests (to me) that it was punched into the lead sheet before it was made into a pipe. But to demonstrate Hodge's proposed use of movable type, we would need to see the inside of the pipe, which should be smooth if he is correct. Otherwise, I suspect that it was simply a punch or stamp, as in ceramic tile manufacture.

(Thanks for raising the subject, Stefan. I had only ever seen "engraved" lead pipes, which must involve a different process.)