A nearly complete brick inscribed with three lines of cursive graffiti was recovered from a layer associated with the demolition of the bathhouse. As with the majority of examples across Roman Britain the graffiti was incised pre-firing, probably in this case with a sharp point or stylus, but more unusually the entire inscription survives. However, it has proved difficult to translate and could be read in a number of ways, none of which makes obvious sense!
One possible translation may be “enter, my mother, with (such) heats draw (some) rest”.
Could it have been a sign to mark the female changing room in the bathhouse? While this is possible, it is unlikely that the graffiti on the pedalis at Shadwell was ever intended for view. Much of the building material used in the construction of the bath house was salvaged from an earlier structure containing a substantial hypocaust. While this may have been another bathhouse, this does not necessarily imply that the tile was originally used as a sign, particularly when no parallel can be sought. The graffiti is fairly well accomplished in execution but is not easily legible, particularly from any distance, nor is it centrally placed within the brick thus making a very unsuitable sign or plaque. Alternative explanations may be found by looking at other inscribed tiles from London and across Roman Britain (Brodribb 1979a; 1987; Tomlin 1979; Frere and Tomlin 1993). Evidently, many of the marks on Roman tile relate to the process of production, principally in dating batches, recording quantities and noting makers names or signs (Tomlin 1979, 233). Instruction in literacy also appears, namely in possible reading and writing exercises. Possible proprietors and soldiers names also occur, the latter including individuals thought to have been seconded to legionary brickworks (Tomlin 1979, 236). Other more casual and sometimes superfluous information is recorded which include aphorisms or longer expressions and adages, the latter noted from the continent (Tomlin 1979, 239). Less frequently graffiti refers to a third-person, with an example from London noting that ‘Every day for thirteen days Austalis has been wandering by himself’ (Frere and Tomlin 1993, 2491.147, 138).
Other interpretations could therefore be suggested. Even if the individual who marked the tile, whether or not it was the tiler himself, knew of the ultimate destination the graffiti may not represent a sign but more a dedication to the intended structure or to bring good luck. To be led by the original context of the brick, however, is not advisable especially when this is not known for certain and even if sourced to a bath house the presence of the graffiti could be entirely coincidental. Although used and reused in many ways, both pedalis and bessalis bricks were chiefly manufactured for the construction of hypocaust pilae. It is possible one of the tilers may just have been making a pun or aphorism suitable to the form, but were at the same time entirely unaware of the brick’s actual destination. In this way the content and meaning is perhaps akin to other, more arbitrary examples.
The letters themselves, or the phrase ‘enter, my mother, with (such) heats draw (some) rest’ may also have been amuletic. Letters are symbols and thus ‘magic’ in many semi-literate societies. Given the reference to heat, perhaps the text was deliberately scrawled into the tile to ensure a successful firing. Given the significant investment of effort and materials in a single firing a literate individual of particular significance may even have been paid to do so.
The inscription may alternatively represent a writing lesson. It is thought that a tile recovered from Silchester depicting a Virgilian tag might have been used for just this purpose, containing fifteen separate letters (Frere and Tomlin 1993, 2491.148, 138). The brick from the bath house appears to use sixteen separate letters or characters. Alternatively the graffiti may represent a symbolic funerary mark by the tiler after the death of his mother or perhaps even have a more lascivious meaning!
