The word terracotta literally means 'cooked clay'. Earthenware or Terracotta refers to the  unglazed and non-vitrified clay items. They are fired at relatively low temperatures compared to vitrified ceramics. 

Terracotta has a always been a part of human culture and civilisation. There are evidences of clay pottery and bricks used in Tamilnadu from 2000-2500 years ago. Fired clay, is such a durable material!

A clay tile is produced with the same traditional methods. Fine clay is selected from nearby sources. River and Tank sediments are good secondary sources of clay. Then it is blended and purified by removing stones, roots, wood etc. 

An important feature of clay is that it becomes plastic when right quantity of water is added. It can be molded to any shape easily into any shape - a brick, tile, pot or jewel. When it is left to dry, it hardens. Then it is fired in a kiln in a temperature range of 700-900 deg C.

The result is a typical red, hard durable material that becomes part of #ClayTileCulture.