Roof Tile Fragment with Impressed Stamp

Fragment of a flat roof tile (imbrex), of regional production, bearing a rectangular stamp with the Latin inscription Q. LAR.

Stamps on roof tiles were impressed into the clay while it was still wet, often within a cartouche, and served to identify the owner of the production, the person responsible for the workshop, or the place of origin. In the Roman period, such marks also functioned as tools for controlling building materials; today, they provide valuable chronological and topographical information about construction activities and the economic organization of a site.

The stamp on this tile has been found on a significant percentage of roof tiles recovered from several areas of the Roman settlement at Capo Colonna, especially in Domus CRr. The letters Q. LAR most likely refer to Quintus Laronius, a figure of Vibonese origin active in the Late Republican period, closely associated with Agrippa—the famous general of Augustus—and who became consul suffectus in 33 BC, that is, appointed to replace a serving consul and complete his term. The presence of his name on the tiles indicates a production connected to figlinae, brick- and tile-making kilns that belonged to him or were under his control.