In THIS column, the Master discusses whether Roman sundials had IIII or IV on them.
HERE is a science education website that discusses early clocks & sundials.
Roman sundials were not flat! They were bowl-shaped, & you could keep track of the months with them, too.
Flat sundials seemingly were products of the Dark Ages (sundials/Dark Ages–free oxymoron to anybody who’ll give it a good home).
The website shows a 15th Century clock with IIII, & a Dark Ages sundial with a IV.
I can’t see the markings on the sundial. :mad:
I hope this link is helpful, & please show it to the Celestial Master.
Moreoever, although the Romans did not have weight-driven or spring-driven escapement clocks, they did have clocks with dials and hands, in the form of clepsydrae with float-to-rack-to-pinion drives. cf.This discussion at Beaglesoft.