Amphora replica of the Dressel Catalan type that were produced in the Roman times of the Emperor Augustus (1st century BC). They were made in the western Mediterranean regions in the workshops of the northern Mediterranean coast of Hispania in the kilns of the main Roman cities of the area like Tarraco (present day Tarragona). Their use was widespread throughout all the western provinces of the Mediterranean mainly for carrying and preserving wine, although some remains have also been found in areas of Great Britain and in eastern Mediterranean provinces, indicating that this type of amphorae was commonly used from the 1st century BC up until the 2nd century AD. They were probably used to hold wine produced in the area where the amphorae were made.

Here’s an interesting work I recently completed on a red Quarry tiled floor at a house in the town of Abington, Northampton. In post-war Britain (more specifically in the 1940s and 1950s), many new homes were built with Quarry tiled hallways and kitchens, so quite a popular feature back then. These floors are typically quite hard wearing and therefore ideal for such high traffic areas; additionally they don’t need a great deal of maintenance but their appearance will degrade over time. In this particular house, the Quarry tiled floor had been covered with linoleum for many years, causing significant patches of visible black mould. The floor also had a loose tile (which I promptly reset to mitigate the potential tripping hazard) and splashes of paint due to a lack of precaution while the house was being renovated. Needless to say, the floor needed a lot of work. Before beginning the cleaning I made sure to vacuum up all of the loose debris from the floor. I then applied Tile Doctor Remove & Go to the tiles, left it to dwell for a short period, and then agitated the area with a black stripping pad, adding water to aid the process. This helped to break down any old and ineffectual sealer, along with the paint splashes marking the tiles, leaving a much cleaner and more refined appearance. I followed this up with Tile Doctor Grout Clean-Up to eliminate the odd speck of cement and grout haze dating back to when the floor was first installed; Gout Clean-up has an acid base so it’s not advised to leave it on the tiles for too long, consequently as soon as I was happy it had done the job I rinsed it off with water and give the floor a thorough wash down. I used a wet-vacuum machine to extract as much water as possible and gave the floor a once over with steam cleaner which improves the evaporation of any remaining moisture by heating up the tiles. After completing the cleaning process, I left the house to allow time for the floor to dry completely. Upon my return, I conducted a damp test which showed the floor needed to dry further before sealing so I left an industrial fan in place for a couple of hours to help speed things up. Once I was satisfied that the floor was dry enough to take the sealant, I sealed the floor using Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is an interesting product that will not only provide durable stain protection but also improves the natural colours of the tile. While the floor required a lot of time and work to restore, I think you will agree the results were certainly worth waiting for. Phil Vissian Northamptonshire Tile Doctor