Marble roof tiles from the Temple of Artemis at Sardis

Marble roof tiles from the Temple of Artemis at Sardis

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

These fragments have been pieced together to exemplify the size and arrangement of the original tiles used to roof the temple. In antiquity, most roof tiles were made of terracotta. The use of local marble for those of this massive temple is but one indication of its lavishness and of the tremendous expense afforded in its construction. The tiles have the usual form of separate pan and cover tiles (see drawing) but are larger than most known roof tiles from mainland Greece. The flat pan tiles with raised rims were laid one next to the other, atop wooden rafters in overlapping rows. The triangular cover tiles fit over the raised rims of the pan tiles and protected the joints. The underside of the cover tiles have a knob at the front, and the tops of the corresponding cover tiles are notched at the back (see drawing). This measure ensured that the cover tiles fit together and did not slip out of place.

Greek and Roman Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Marble roof tiles from the Temple of Artemis at SardisMarble roof tiles from the Temple of Artemis at SardisMarble roof tiles from the Temple of Artemis at SardisMarble roof tiles from the Temple of Artemis at SardisMarble roof tiles from the Temple of Artemis at Sardis

The Museum's collection of Greek and Roman art comprises more than thirty thousand works ranging in date from the Neolithic period (ca. 4500 B.C.) to the time of the Roman emperor Constantine's conversion to Christianity in A.D. 312. It includes the art of many cultures and is among the most comprehensive in North America. The geographic regions represented are Greece and Italy, but not as delimited by modern political frontiers: Greek colonies were established around the Mediterranean basin and on the shores of the Black Sea, and Cyprus became increasingly Hellenized. For Roman art, the geographical limits coincide with the expansion of the Roman Empire. The department also exhibits the art of prehistoric Greece (Helladic, Cycladic, and Minoan) and pre-Roman art of Italic peoples, notably the Etruscans.