Shales have produced major problems in foundations, cut slopes and embankments. This research concentrates on embankment problems produced shale fill materials. Representative shale samples were collected from fifteen different locations in Indiana, covering a spectrum from relatively hard and durable ones to those which rapidly weathered into soil. Current state-of-the-art information was gathered from various agencies engaged in embankment construction using soil, shale and other rocks. An extensive testing program was carried out in the laboratory, including degradation, soil type standard identification, compaction and load-deformation, and other types of tests. Standard tests were modified to suit the soft rocks. Not all the tests yielded useful descriptors. However, experimentally defined values of soaked durability index, soundness index, fissility number, and bulk density seemed to be important descriptors. On the basis of the test results, it is proposed that Indiana shales be classified as "rock like", "intermediate-1", "intermediate-2", or "soil like" shales. A case history of shale embankment failure on I-74 in southeastern Indiana is presented. The failure was caused by improper placement of the shale, which was in turn caused by a failure to identify the shale and to write special provisions for it.