The ancients certainly knew a thing or two about decorating. They understood that we have a deep seated need to express our personalities and impress our culture onto our surroundings; in particular, to surround ourselves with the beauty of art and artefact and to colour the world we live in. For thousands of years one of the most popular and enduring materials used for this expression has been ceramic tile – be it glazed or unglazed clay or stone and marble mosaic. The Greeks and the Romans covered their halls, walls, floors, pillars and baths in tiles. They used tile mosaic to ‘paint’ the most beautiful scenes from their own lives, and to depict the higher lives of their gods and mythologies. The ancient Egyptians, and later the Moors, created tile patterns both complex and simple which are still used today.