#tile making

(via Categories of risk | Heritage Crafts Association)

A Roman tile marked with finger lines, hobnail shoe prints, dog's paw prints, and a stamp of the LEG(io) XIIII G(emina). Tiles with imprints are very common, since tiles were laid out to dry in the open air ahead of firing, where animals and people could step on them - though footprints might have been evidence to check whether the clay was set enough. The finger lines might have been batch marks. Found in Carnuntum, Austria.