Melvadius Posted April 27, 2012 Report Share Posted April 27, 2012 Discovery News is carying this report that Roman sailors were apparently paid so poorly that they smuggled what were high value tubi fittili (ceramic reinforcing tubes used in vaulting) from North Africa into Italy probably in the second century AD. Unfortunately the article is not explicit on how they knew that they were being smuggled but I presume they must have been found in small caches scattered all over a fairly recently discovered but very well preserved shipwreck. Evidence of ancient smuggling activity has emerged from a Roman shipwreck, according to Italian archaeologists who have investigated the vessel's cargo. Dating to the third century AD, the large sunken ship was fully recovered six months ago at a depth of 7 feet near the shore of Marausa Lido, a beach resort near Trapani. Her cargo, officially consisting of assorted jars once filled with walnuts, figs, olives, wine, oil and fish sauce, also contained many unusual tubular tiles. The unique tiles were apparently valuable enough for sailors to smuggle them from North Africa to Rome, where they sold for higher prices. ...continued Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klingan Posted April 27, 2012 Report Share Posted April 27, 2012 Could it be that the Romans held tubi fittili under a trade ban? Pure speculation from me though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GhostOfClayton Posted April 28, 2012 Report Share Posted April 28, 2012 I have no way of looking up what these are. Are we talking about the tubular tiles used to vent a hypocaust up a wall? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klingan Posted April 28, 2012 Report Share Posted April 28, 2012 I have no way of looking up what these are. Are we talking about the tubular tiles used to vent a hypocaust up a wall? I guess not, they should be called tegulae tubuli and not fit "into" each other, but rather on top of. Then again, I have seen tubuli used in vaults. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melvadius Posted April 28, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 28, 2012 No Ghost these are interlocking ceramic tubes which can be used to form a 'vaulted' curved roof such as you might find in a bath house. I took some photographs of a few broken examples when I went to leptiminus (Lamta) a few years back and included them in my gallery such as in this example. When they are concreted together and a skim of plaster applied over them they form a very respectable and strong curved roof which usally has a very distinctive ripple pattern as can be seen from this broken section which I photographed at the El Djem museum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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