Introduced by the Romans to Western Europe, the art of making ceramic floor tiles was forgotten until the 12th century when Cistercian monks developed a method of fabricating encaustic floor tiles with inlaid patterns for cathedral and church floors. The skill was again lost in the 16th century following the Reformation and was not rediscovered until 1843 when Herbert Minton revived the lost art of encaustic tile–making in England.

Encaustic tiles, which are made by dust–pressing, are unique in that their designs are literally “inlaid” into the tile body, rather than surface–applied.

More information on floor tiles and their maintenance, can be found under “Flooring” in the Resources section.