In Photos: Animal Prints on Ancient Roman Tiles

Animal Prints

(Image credit: Adam Slater, Wardell Armstrong Archaeology)

Archaeologists discovered these animal-printed tile fragments in Blackfriars, Leicester, during excavations in 2014.

Sheep or Goat Prints

The tiles, which could be nearly 2,000 years old, date back to Britain's early Roman era. The fragment shown here is embedded with the hoof prints of a sheep or goat.

Dog Prints

A dog pushed its paws into this ancient Roman tile before it could dry.

Leicester Dig

(Image credit: Wardell Armstrong Archaeology)

Archaeologists are excavating a site in Leicester England ahead of a construction project. They've found artifacts dating back to the late Iron Age and early Roman era.

Iron Age Coin Mold

Excavators also found fragments of clay molds at the site, which Iron Age people would have used to make coins.

Megan has been writing for Live Science and Space.com since 2012. Her interests range from archaeology to space exploration, and she has a bachelor's degree in English and art history from New York University. Megan spent two years as a reporter on the national desk at NewsCore. She has watched dinosaur auctions, witnessed rocket launches, licked ancient pottery sherds in Cyprus and flown in zero gravity. Follow her on Twitter and Google+.