Tegula replica

[garrelt]

I'm looking for replicas of Tegula.
This is not for a roof reconstruction but for making a fireplace at a camp.
This idea comes from different roman era shipwrecks where Tegula were used as the base for fireplaces.
Who makes them and what would be the price per Tegula.
I need about 12 Tegula.

[M. Demetrius]

Legion IX HSPA in California made some, but I don't know if they sell them. If you have clay available, just make a wooden form the shape you want, and press the clay into the "box". Remove the form, let them dry for a long, long time, then have them fired. Make extras. They often crack or break in firing, or later on when impacts happen. And they're heavy, so devise a safe transport box with adequate padding.

I made some replica floor tiles and had them bisque fired, then fired them again in a wood fire pit. They look very much like the original tiles. Same idea for your tegulae should work. Make the form so it can open to make it easier to remove the wood, and set the wet clay onto plywood base. The clay will release from plywood pretty well when the clay is dry.

You could even make a stamp to press into the wet clay with your unit name on it, like the Romans frequently did.

I'm sure a real potter can provide lots of info here, and probably even better ideas than I have.

[garrelt]

David

Thanks for your reply.
If I can't find any that are already made, I will ask the potter at our Museum if she can make some.

[M. Demetrius]

Of course, you know we demand pictures of the finished tiles, and request a couple of photos of the form and process so others can make something like them, too. :wink: :!:

[garrelt]

First I will Research all the Tegula (parts) know in The Netherlands.
I know there are some fragments of Tegula from my area.
We did some excavations which unearthed Roman era fragments of pottery, some knives , 2 or 3 Iron fibula, a small axehead, glass beads and some cremations.
All not yet published.

Yes if we start making Tegula ourselves pictures will be posted.
Even with such details as imprints from hobnails and cat feet. :wink:

[Viventius]

The museum building reconstructions at Arbeia (Hadrian's Wall fort) got their (factory made) tegula and imbrex from somewhere in Italy, but I don't know where.

There is also a chap very keen on tegula, and has written a whole publication on them: Warry, Peter (2006). Tegulae Manufacture, Typology and Use in Roman Britain. Oxford, England: Archaeopress. ISBN 1-84171-956-0

The main thing is to find out the common dimensions of tegula in your area - they vary immensely in the UK for example, with really large ones being associated with military sites, and smaller ones with civilian sites.

They get reused for all sorts of things, including lining graves, as tile tombs, drainage channels, courses in walls, and hearths (on land as well as on a ship), etc.

A modern day handmade roof tile or brick manufacturer might be interested in making some for you - I think Warry got one to do some for his project. A potter may well use very refined clay, whereas tegulae would be made of clay similar to that used in handmade bricks/tiles.

[garrelt]

Sandra

Thanks for you reply and the isbn number of the book.
Any idea about the price and delivery time of these Italian made Tegula?
I'm the office again tomorrow so I can do a small depot excavation.
As I recall we have Tegula pieces used for lining a grave and some found is a area with blacksmith slag.
Yes I know that dimensions can differ.
We have the same loam in the museum which has been used, at least in my region, for making bricks since at least 1600.

[Viventius]

Sorry garrelt, just seen your post!

I have no idea about the supply times of the italian tiles. You could try contacting Tyne and Wear Museums to see if they can tell you. I think the tiles were machine made - they look very regular, eg. : http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c ... rracks.jpg

[M. Demetrius]

They would have to be pretty regular since there would have to be so many of them to make a roof. There is somewhere here on RAT some pictures of someone who made roof tiles, a couple of years ago, iirc. He made a form of some kind and draped the slabs of clay over it to dry.

[Viventius]

They are obviousy made with forms, though I have seen imbrex that were folded over the maker's leg! But these are hand made products, so will be irregular - maker, drying, firing all have their parts to play. And made in such numbers, with humans all too involved, all sorts of marks appear, beside the obvious prints and stamps. They are an irregular product, which is why machine made 'replicas' are rather too regular; the product is controlled and automated.

The roof line is too straight when the tiles are machine made. Not Roman examples, but compare Barley Hall in York, with Merchant Adventurers Hall in York and work out which one uses machine made tiles:

Barley Hall, York:
http://www.yorkhistoryinpictures.co.uk/ ... y-Hall.jpg

Merchant Adventurers:
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1102/120 ... 44.jpg?v=0

[Gaius Julius Caesar]

Hmmm, obviously Merchant Adventurers uses the Authentic, machine made tiles.....just kidding.
Seems a pity considering the obvious(to me anyway) authenticity of the external fabric of the building otherwise. Perhaps the ywere more cncerned with preserving that fabric, rather than the cost and wait for traditional materials?
Did they use Barley Hall again this year for the Market in February?

[Viventius]

There hasn't been a Viking Market at Barley Hall for at least two years 8)