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Roman Pilae?

Posted: Fri Jun 12, 2026 5:02 pm
by strandlerper
Again found in the local river a while ago. Obviously incomplete but I did see another one on the far side of the river that had two complete sides. I would say that one measured approx 8-9 inches square. I went back with wellies another day but of course I couldn’t find it again. I kept this because I’d not found anything that shape or size in the river before. Seen plenty of quarry tiles whole or broken. It was its thickness related to its size that puzzled me. It would take quite a few of those to cover a floor? Why not make them bigger? Go on, tell me it’s from a cow shed :lol:
Found fragment of tegula tile in same river and put it up on here a while ago..if I’d not found that I wouldn’t be thinking Roman for these maybe. One side appears smoother than the other which may suggest floor or it could have been the top tile in the stack? Or it might just be wear from being in the river.
Can anyone think what else it might have been used for? :Thinking: Cheers.

I know it’s spelt wrong but it wouldn’t let me spell it right :lol:

Re: Roman Pilae?

Posted: Fri Jun 12, 2026 5:46 pm
by HammeredDeus
It looks like it's made from sedimentary rock, sandstone maybe, is that local to the area? Could it have been used as ballast in a boat shifting material around the place?

Re: Roman Pilae?

Posted: Fri Jun 12, 2026 6:49 pm
by strandlerper
Sand/gritstone are local to the area but I’m pretty sure it’s made from the local clays. Quite a few ‘frogless’ bricks to be found in the river that appear to be made of the same material. The river isn’t wide enough to be navigable anywhere along it’s course. I’ll not give up on finding that other one. Got to be still in there somewhere unless someone’s had it for a plant stand for there garden :lol: :thumbsup: or doing the same as I am….

Be a nice spot for a bathhouse …where two small rivers meet.

Re: Roman Pilae?

Posted: Fri Jun 12, 2026 9:09 pm
by fred
The problem for me is that most British Roman bricks are about 1.5 inches high and tend to be quite large. It's Medieval and later ones which push towards 2 inches high and the other dimensions are closer to modern bricks. I think your best bet is to try and find a whole one. :thumbsup:

Re: Roman Pilae?

Posted: Sat Jun 13, 2026 12:05 am
by strandlerper
Cheers Fred thanks for that, I’ll keep looking :thumbsup:
It seemed the right sort of size and thickness for the stacks of tiles used with under floor heating judging from photos of excavated Roman sites I’ve seen.