Roman Rooftile with Imprints of a Dog

3D Model

• Origin: Kerkrade
• Date: Roman Empire (first century AD)
• Material: Fired Clay
• Capturing: Canon EOS 250D
• Processing: Agisoft Metashape Professional Software
• Created by: Riley Aronson and Francien van den Dool

Pictured above is a tegula, a part of the Roman roofing structure. The complete structure consists of the imbrex and the tegula, which together create a weatherproof roof. Tegulas are placed flat next to each other on top of the roof, and the imbrex is put over the upright edges to close the gap between the tegulas. Rooftiles are formed from clay in moulds, and were left in open air to harden before being fired. It is not uncommon that during this drying process animals or children would step on the rooftiles, leaving their prints behind.

This Roman tile is part of the collection of Centre Céramique in Maastricht, the Netherlands. The Romans settled in Maastricht somewhere during the first century AD, their legacy left behind with archaeological finds like this rooftile.