Recreating Roman Building Materials

[Hibernicus]

ADZE... I love this tool!

[M. Demetrius]

Looks like there is a lot more metal in that adze where the socket is than the hammer or blade end. How did you accomplish that? by flattening a square parent bar on both sides of the socket area?

[Hibernicus]

widened the metal billet at that end when hot... also hammered against a rod inserted into the hole

[Nemonius Agricola]

Here is the firing process of the Imbrex. The tiles were fired for cone 10. Meaning it is a high firing.

As you can notice they is some by-product of using clay in which you get cups, flagons, bowls and lamp holders. All of them are pinch method and this summer I hope to learn the wheel and make more items.

[M. Demetrius]

Great work, and nice to see inside the kiln, too.

[Viventius]

I note your re-created tegulae have two nail holes. Very often, they didn't have any nail holes at all - especially early on. I think hope, sheer weight, and a lot of mortar must have held them on the roof. Added to that, the angle they were laid at was quite shallow, around 20 degrees (I think, off the top top of my head). Later on, sometimes a single nail hole, at the top of the tile is found. The theory is that the angle of the roof became more raked over time, at around 30 degrees. Anyway, that's what seemed to have happened in Britannia. Imbrice very rarely have nail holes. Occasionally tegulae have a nailhole knocked through after firing.

However, in the early medieval era (11th-12th century) a curved and flanged system very similar to the Roman system was used, and nailholes were common in both the flanged and the curved tiles. The main way of telling the difference between Roman teg and imb and medieval curved and flanged is the size. The latter is smaller, the fabric tends to be browner and coarser, and single nail holes are the norm. And sometimes the medieval stuff is glazed. This essentially continental type of tile went out of favour pretty quickly in medieval England, to be replaced by flat roof peg tiles and nib tiles.

[M. Demetrius]

nailhole knocked through after firing

Sounds risky to me. Not to say they didn't do it, but it would make for lots more broken tiles, or perhaps they weren't fully fired?

[Viventius]

Pretty sure they were fully fired - they tend to be 'pecked' out delicately, rather like the holes made in stone to make stone roofing ... Or I have seen less neat ones, and frankly they were lucky not to break the whole thing - or perhaps they had, as of course I generally see fragments from excavations. I'll see if I've got a pic, but I've really only started to take quick record shots since getting a digital camera a couple of years back. Reuse of ceramic building materials is a constant theme, so pecking out a hole to re-use or adjust the tile isn't a problem. (mild rant) Re-use of ceramic building materials ("it's all residual") is also used as an excuse for archaeologists to discard vast amounts without recording it properly as well (mild rant over)

I shan't tell you what I do to Roman tiles to record them, all I will say is that archaeology is destruction :twisted:

[Gaius Julius Caesar]

Hmmmmmm, next time, just pack them all up and ship them to me.......I need to build a house/villa!! :wink:

[Hibernicus]

IIRC, Agrico said that holes were less common... shallow pitch too...

I'm sure he'll chime in...

Going to make a third ladder... longer.. wider... with through rungs... stronger..

SCALAE..

[Viventius]

Hmmmmmm, next time, just pack them all up and ship them to me.......I need to build a house/villa!! :wink:

OK, but it'll cost ya - tile is heavy 8)

[Gaius Julius Caesar]

Hmmmmmm, next time, just pack them all up and ship them to me.......I need to build a house/villa!! :wink:

OK, but it'll cost ya - tile is heavy 8)

Ok, I'll send the mules then!
:roll:

[Nemonius Agricola]

I had got the two nail holes from an example from Dover and had two nail holes on the same level near the top. One tile from Crookhorn has as many as six holes scattered over the face of the tile. But your right one is the typical number if they have holes.

In the book by Gerald Brodribb called Roman brick and tile. He has a figure in his book on page 11 saying " Of the 615 complete tegulae recorded one in five carried holes: the conclusion is that only certain tegulae were attached, and those most likly would be the tiles of the lowest course overhanging the eaves."

The angle I have been working with is a 23 degree rake. It was not on level ground as you can see the line marked on the cross beam is 20 degrees. I was shooting for that degree but had to work with what I had with out digging flat ground.

[Nemonius Agricola]

I would recommended Viventius blog about bricks and tiles. It is full of things that are hard to find about tiles and bricks. It took me around six months in the US to find all the information that is on the blog. Like the link that has the mouse on the tile. Wonderful information and keep up the good work on the unglamorous tile and brick field.

[M. Demetrius]

third ladder... longer.. wider... with through rungs... stronger..

Do you plan to put wedges in like on a hammer handle?