Opus figlinum

Opus figlinum or opus figulinum, literally "pottery", is a type of masonry construction used in Roman architecture. It is a pavement formed of squares of pottery or terracotta, set flat and on edge alternately.^[1]

Description

Pavements in opus figlinum are usually made up of rectangular ceramic pottery or brick fragments of the same size, placed in groups of three. The orientation of adjacent groups is alternately vertical and horizontal; thus, the juxtaposition creates the visual impression of a braid pattern.^[2] The fragments are fixed to the subfloor with mortar. The stone fragments used are very small: about 2.5 x 2.5 x 2 cm.^[3]

References

^ The Getty Conservation Institute, Illustrated Glossary: Technician Training for the Maintenance of In Situ Mosaics p. 14.
^ Mariette de Vos, The Rural Landscape of Thugga, in The Roman Agricultural Economy: Organization, Investment, and Production. (2013), p. 172, ISBN 9780191651922.
^ Dean Peeters, Shaping Regionality in Socio-Economic Systems: Late Hellenistic - Late Roman Ceramic Production, Circulation, and Consumption in Boeotia, Central Greece (c. 150 BC–AD 700). (2023), p. 219, ISBN 9781803272207.

[1] The Getty Conservation Institute, Illustrated Glossary: Technician Training for the Maintenance of In Situ Mosaics p. 14.

[2] Mariette de Vos, The Rural Landscape of Thugga, in The Roman Agricultural Economy: Organization, Investment, and Production. (2013), p. 172, ISBN 9780191651922.

[3] Dean Peeters, Shaping Regionality in Socio-Economic Systems: Late Hellenistic - Late Roman Ceramic Production, Circulation, and Consumption in Boeotia, Central Greece (c. 150 BC–AD 700). (2023), p. 219, ISBN 9781803272207.

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