HDA 98 - Highfield Drive, Alverthorpe, West Yorkshire

Ceramic Building Materials Assessment Report

by S Garside-Neville

Introduction

This is a small, fragmentary sample, weighing 1.840kg. All of the material is Roman in date.

Roman material

Forms present include tegula (roof tile) and combed box flue (used in hypocaust systems). The tegula is 27mm thick and shows signs of exposure to the elements during manufacture, as there appear to be raindrop impressions on its upper surface. It is well made, and neatly trimmed. Combed box flue probably date from the late 1st century onwards. There are also some possible fragments of circular pilae (used in hypocaust floors), and armchair voussoir (used in the vaults of bath house roofs). The armchair voussoir is quite rare, being found on only a few Roman sites in the country.

The fabric of the fragments is generally red, fine and hard. There are some examples of an orange, softer fabric, though these may be due to differences in firing and deposition conditions. Also, at least one example shows a sandier fabric.

Discussion

Only two tile kiln sites are known in Yorkshire - Grimescar and York. The Grimescar box flue have scored keying, and the fabric tends to fire pale to mid orange, which does not fit well with the Alverthorpe sample. It could be that the material comes from York (it certainly falls within the fabric appearance and manufacturing traits), or perhaps another, as yet undiscovered kiln in the area.

The range of forms point to a substantial Roman building, probably a bath house (particularly if the identification of the armchair voussoir is correct).

Recommendations

This sample should be retained for further study in the future. Its presence and the range of forms could be significant.

The sample should be washed, as its current unwashed state hinders the identification of surface marks, sanding, and manufacturing traits in general. Most of the larger and significant fragments are stable enough to be washed.

Context Listing

Context Form/s Spot date

109 Tegula (T27mm, raindrops on surface, Roman

trimmed, hard red fabric with silty

bands); Brick fragments; ?Pila

(trimmed edges, ?circular);

?Armchair voussoir

110 Box flue (combed); Brick fragments late c1st +

sgn

6/98