CERAMIC BUILDING MATERIAL MINIMUM STANDARDS FOR RECOVERY, CURATION, ANALYSIS AND PUBLICATION

Bit of a mouthful! But useful if you have a heck of a lot of Ceramic Building Material on site or cluttering up your archives or even museum in the UK.  Meanwhile, the standards are from 2002 and doubtless need up dating.  However, till then ... : 

 

CERAMIC BUILDING MATERIAL
MINIMUM STANDARDS FOR RECOVERY, CURATION, ANALYSIS AND PUBLICATION

 

1. INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background

1.1.1 Ceramic building material (CBM) is defined as clay material that has been deliberately fired for use as part of a structure. The main categories are brick, roof tile, floor tile, wall tile and hypocaust elements.

1.1.2 Archaeology became formally recognised in the planning process following the introduction of PPG16 (DoE 1990), and there has been a considerable increase in the amount of fieldwork that takes place as a result. Such archaeological work, mainly in the form of evaluations, is normally subject to competitive tendering. It is a commonplace for several contractors to work in the same region, resulting in a wide variability of excavation and recording procedures. Nevertheless, contracting archaeologists have a responsibility to ensure that archaeological information is properly recovered and recorded. Local authority planning archaeologists are responsible for adequate monitoring of those projects under their jurisdiction. However, the planning archaeologists have a tremendous workload and may have insufficient access to specialist knowledge to carry out this role.
 

1.1.3 In an attempt to ensure adequate study and curation of the archaeological resource, various standards have been issued by the professional body of the discipline, the Institute of Field Archaeologists. The latest standard deals with finds work (IFA 2001). Individuals and organisations could be in breach of the IFA Code of Conduct if they fail to adhere to these standards.

1.1.4 Another method that has been adopted in order to assist planning archaeologists with monitoring is the production of guidelines. The United Kingdom Institute for Conservation (UKIC) has produced several guidelines on the recovery and curation of excavated material. A review of medieval pottery studies in England recognised the existence of a range of curation and study procedures that required standardisation (Mellor 1994). Specialist pottery groups have produced guidelines regarding Roman and medieval pottery (SGRP 1994; MPRG 2001).

1.1.5 In order to maximise the resources available for archaeological research, MAP2 was published as a guide to the cost-effective management of projects (English Heritage 1991). MAP2 requires the research potential of all of the data recovered, including the finds, to be considered during assessment.
 

1.1.6 This document is presented by the Archaeological Ceramic Building Materials Group (ACBMG) which was established in 1999. The group covers Britain primarily, but also has links with Europe. One of its stated aims is to influence policy and strategy with regard to ceramic building materials.
 

1.2 The value of CBM
1.2.1 CBM is found on many archaeological sites. As it is relatively stable and forms a major component of many buildings, it often forms the greatest portion of the artefacts and bulk material found on archaeological sites. Although the forms are not as diverse as pottery, there are sufficient variations in the forms and fabrics of CBM to formulate typologies and to identify clay sources. All CBM, even unstratified material, is therefore potentially important in its own right.
 

1.2.2 Brick and tile of all periods can be extremely useful in providing information on:
a) economy: local, regional and international trade; manufacturing processes and technology; relationship with other British building traditions and techniques. An example is the introduction of brick into eastern England from the Low Countries in the 14th century.
b) society: building and site status; working practices. For instance, curved and flanged tile, a roofing system similar to the Roman imbrex and tegula, is increasingly being recognised as an indicator of the presence of high status buildings of Anglo-Norman date.
c) fieldwork interpretation: site dating; site formation processes (deposit status, contamination and residuality). For example, on evaluations in urban contexts where CBM is assessed, the brick and tile usually play a useful role in dating the stratified sequence of activity.
 

1.2.3 The importance of the brick and tile industries in England has been recognised in the English Heritage Monuments Protection Programme (Simco 1998, 46ff.). Roman and post-Roman CBM industries tend to manufacture products for a local or regional market, and there is considerable potential to refine the spatial and chronological distributions of the material.
 

1.3 The current use of CBM as a resource
1.3.1 The fact that CBM is bulky and can be found in quite large quantities can be seen to be as much a problem as an asset. It is often neglected as an archaeological resource because its retention in the archive is deemed to be too costly in a financially competitive environment. The recovery of brick and tile is variable as a result. Typically, the CBM is radically sampled on site, producing a biased sample. Even on larger or research excavations, decisions regarding the recovery and recording of CBM are often made without specialist advice. Sampling on a scale that would be totally unacceptable for virtually every other form of excavation data is still the norm. Discarded material is usually inadequately recorded. Often, the retained sample is not assessed (by a qualified specialist).
 

1.3.2 CBM form and fabric type series already exist in some regions, but they often result from the work of individual CBM specialists. Regions with more than one CBM specialist could have two or more type series that are not easily comparable. There is usually insufficient time in the average evaluation to record the forms and fabrics and weigh the individual fragments. The brick and tile is 'assessed' instead, resulting in an unquantified list of the presence of forms by context
 

1.3.3 Progress over the last decade in developing the potential of the material has been more limited than might have been expected. Even if brick and tile is adequately recovered and/or recorded, most of the information is not disseminated beyond the evaluation report. The analysis and publication of large CBM assemblages is extremely rare.
 

1.4 Aims of these guidelines
a) to assist planning and other archaeologists devising specifications for archaeological projects, so that adequate treatment of CBM and involvement of CBM specialists is ensured
b) to assist museum curators in the management of their archives and CBM collections
c) to offer guidance on good working practice to CBM specialists and those in the archaeological profession who come across CBM in their work

 

2. GUIDELINES

2.1 Project design
2.1.1 Wherever the recovery of CBM assemblages (or related material such as daub or mortar) from a fieldwork project is likely, the advice of a CBM specialist should be sought. If such a specialist is required to form part of a project team, he/she should be identified at the outset. The CBM specialist should be involved in the project design (and its up-dating), the project costing and strategic decision-making.
 

2.1.2 Contracting archaeologists should be aware of the resource implications regarding the deposition of CBM with receiving museums. The registered receiving museum should be consulted by the contracting archaeologist regarding the deposition of the material and its documentation as part of the site archive (see IFA 2001, 3.3 and 3.6).
 

2.1.3 The ownership, curation and accessibility of the CBM archive should be considered in the project design. The costing of, and provision for, each of these aspects should be accounted for in the project budget (IFA 2001, 3.10.1).
 

2.2 Type series
2.2.1 Regional CBM (form and fabric) type series should be established and curated, preferably by the local collecting museum or similar curator, and their use encouraged by the planning archaeologist. This would result in standardised identifications, the basis of future synthetic work. The necessity of consulting a recognised CBM type series should be built into briefs and specifications, and should apply to all contractors working in each region. In the absence of a regional type series curated by the collecting museum, the local CBM specialist(s) should be consulted (see IFA 2001, 3.7.2).
 

2.2.2 The type series should comprise examples of each fabric and form, supported by written descriptions; and thin-sections of each fabric, the location of which should be incorporated into the UK Database of Thin-Sections. Fabrics should be identified using a magnifying hand lens or microscope as appropriate.

2.3 Fieldwork
2.3.1 Recovery
All CBM found during fieldwork must be retained for examination by a CBM specialist. Unstratified material should be examined by the CBM specialist in order to identify items of intrinsic interest.
 

2.3.2 Discard
It should be possible to discard some CBM from each assemblage provided it is adequately recorded by a CBM specialist (see Recording, below). The retained sample must be representative of the form and fabric types.
Unstratified material generally need not be retained (but see 2.3.1). CBM in excavated structures, such as brick walls, should be sampled. Any sampling and discard procedures must be agreed with the CBM specialist. Discard strategies should be described in the site report (see IFA 2001, 3.4.1-3).
 

2.4 Processing
2.4.1 All retained brick and tile should be processed as soon as possible. It should be adequately washed, bagged (normally by context) and boxed, using suitable archive-quality material. Marking of individual fragments is generally unnecessary, provided the unmarked material is never left without an archive-quality label showing its exact provenance. Suitable care and conservation of the CBM should be undertaken (IFA 2001, 3.4.4).
 

2.5 Assessment
2.5.1 Assessment of brick and tile by a CBM specialist, in order to determine the quality of the data, is necessary for evaluations as part of the planning process (PPG16) and before undertaking analysis and publication (MAP2). In the case of evaluations, the minimum information recorded should be the forms by context, comments regarding diagnostic items, fabrics and the character of the context assemblage, and context spot dates. Such information does not constitute a full record of the material. It is often worthwhile and cost-effective for the CBM to be fully recorded at this stage, prior to analysis, subject to the agreement of the CBM specialist and the planning archaeologist (IFA 2001, 3.5.1).

2.5.2 The CBM specialist should have access to suitable stratigraphic information and supporting locational and dating evidence, in order to ascertain the context of the assemblage and to ascertain the degree of residuality/contamination (IFA 2001, 3.5.2).
 

2.6 Recording
 

2.6.1 Where full recording is necessary (prior to discarding, or during the creation of a research archive - see above), recording should be undertaken using a proforma (see Appendix 1 for an example of a recording proforma). The CBA guide to recording floor tile (Stopford 1990) and the museums documentation standard (SPECTRUM) should also be consulted as appropriate. Normally, a proforma will be completed for each context. All fragments of CBM should be fully recorded (IFA 2001, 3.7.2). The following details should be included for each item:
a) quantification
Quantification of each item will normally be by weight in grammes. Along with the recording of each fragment separately, this constitutes the minimum information needed to ascertain the condition of the assemblage (sherd count and weight). Additional methods of quantification may be necessary depending on the project research objectives.
b) fabric
Should refer to the regional fabric series. In the absence of a regional fabric series, or where fabrics new to the fabric series are identified, samples of the fabrics, along with supporting descriptions, should be included in the archive. Examples of fabrics new to the regional fabric series should be added to that series. See Orton et al (1993, 132-40) for guidance on fabric descriptions.
c) form
Consistent and standardised terminology should be used where possible (tegula cutaway types for example). If local terms are used, they should be included in the regional type series. See for example Ryan (1996, 91f.) for terms regarding bricks.
d) Supporting information
Includes form characteristics (such as peg holes), manufacturing details (such as signatures, pressure marks and glazing), condition (such as signs of abrasion) and signs of use (such as sooting) and re-use (such as mortar applied to broken edges). Measurement in millimetres of certain features (including any complete dimensions, tegula flange heights and peg hole sizes) is necessary.
 

2.7 Analysis
2.7.1 Analysis of brick and tile should be undertaken by a CBM specialist. The precise form of the analysis will depend on its suitability to address the project aims and objectives (IFA 2001, 3.7.1).
2.7.2 In certain circumstances, it may prove necessary to undertake one or more forms of scientific analysis at this stage, as determined by the MAP2 assessment, usually in order to confirm fabric identifications or to identify clay sources. The main types of scientific analysis are as follows:
a) Thin-sectioning
The mineral components of CBM can be identified by viewing thin slices of brick and tile under a petrological microscope.
b) Inductively-coupled plasma spectrometry analysis (ICPS)
The measurement of atomic components of a vapourised ceramic sample.
c) Neutron activation analysis
Through neutron bombardment, the radioactive isotopes in a specimen are measured in order to identify trace elements. Not recommended.
d) X-ray fluorescence.
This has the advantage of being a non-destructive process, but it can only detect certain elements. Perhaps best for the analysis of glazes.
For a thorough exploration of these methods see Barclay (2001).

2.7.3 It may be possible for the CBM specialist to discard some of the material at this stage, subject to the agreement of the planning archaeologist and/or the collecting museum, provided the discarded CBM has been adequately recorded (see Recording, above).
2.7.4 A research archive should be created whether or not the material is deemed suitable for publication (IFA 2001, 3.7.4).

2.8 Computerisation
2.8.1 The use of proformas and standard terms lends itself to computerisation of the records. Ideally, computerised records should be held in an active database; disks stored with the paper archive will become unusable due to their obsolescence (see Richards and Robinson 2001). Even if records are computerised, the paper records should still be included in the archive.
 

2.9 Dissemination
2.9.1 It is essential that the results of the study of brick and tile from archaeological sites should be adequately disseminated in order to develop the material as a resource; to encourage a broader appreciation of the value of archaeological investigation; and to enable broader synthetic studies. Sufficient attention should be paid to the intrinsic value of each assemblage, not just to the best-preserved and more unusual items or the contribution of the material to the interpretation of the site.
2.9.2 The form of dissemination should be determined by a MAP2 assessment. In the case of published reports, this may range from short notes to a full text with illustrations, perhaps incorporating the recorded data in its entirety (see Recording, above).
2.10 The archive
2.10.1 The creation of the archive, and its transfer to the collecting museum, should accord with the guidelines of the Society of Museum Archaeologists (1993). The archive should comprise the retained CBM, all documentation relating to the recording and analysis of the entire assemblage, and a copy of the final report. See SPECTRUM for guidance on museum documentation requirements.
2.10.2 The location of the archive, the existence of any unpublished information and the museum accession code should be stated in the publication report.
2.10.3 The archive should be stored in accordance with the requirements of the registered receiving museum. Examples of new fabrics and forms, along with its documentation, should also be deposited with the Regional Type Series (see IFA 2001, 3.10).
 

3. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Barclay, K. 2001. Scientific analysis of archaeological ceramics: a handbook of resources (Oxbow Books)

DoE, 1990. Planning Policy Guidance Note 16: Archaeology and Planning (=PPG16)
English Heritage, 1991. Management of Archaeological Projects (=MAP2)

IFA = Institute of Field Archaeologists, 2001. Standard and Guidance for the collection, documentation, conservation and research of archaeological materials (updated)

Mellor, M., 1994. Medieval Ceramic Studies in England: A Review for English Heritage (English Heritage)

MPRG = Medieval Pottery Research Group, 2001. Minimum Standards for the Processing, Recording, Analysis and Publication of Post-Roman Ceramics (Medieval Pottery Research Group) (superceded by A Standard for Pottery Studies in Archaeology  was compiled by the three period-specific pottery study groups (Prehistoric Ceramic Research Group (PCRG), Study Group for Roman Pottery (SGRP) and MPRG) and funded by Historic England with the aim of creating the first, comprehensive, inclusive standard for working with pottery)

Orton, C., Tyers, P. and Vince, A., 1993. Pottery in archaeology (Cambridge University Press)

Richards, J. and Robinson, D. (eds.), 2001. Digital Archives from Excavation and Fieldwork: Guide to Good Practice (Oxbow, 2nd edition)

Ryan, P., 1996. Brick in Essex from the Roman Conquest to the Reformation

Simco, A., 1998. The clay industries (English Heritage, Monuments Protection Programme, Step 1 Report)

Society of Museum Archaeologists, 1993. Selection, Retention and Dispersal of Archaeological Collections: Guidelines for use in England, Wales and Northern Ireland
 

SPECTRUM = UK museums documentation standard (Museums Documentation Association, 2nd edition) (updated)

Stopford, J., 1990. Recording medieval floor tiles (Council for British Archaeology)
 

SGRP = Study Group for Roman Pottery, 1994. Guidelines for the Archiving of Roman Pottery (Study Group for Roman Pottery, Guidelines Advisory Document 1)
 

V3.3
KHM 11/2002

Links added to publications 3/2024 - any updates have NOT been considered for standards as yet

Book: Roman Castleford by ...

In the late first century AD an important crossing point of the River Aire was strategically adopted by the Roman army in their campaign against the Brigantiam Celts.  The creation of a fortified site with an attendant settlement, was to establish a Roman presence that endured over 300 years.  As a legacy, Castleford has extraordinary potential for Roman archaeology, and this booklet tell what has been revealed so far.

Roman Castleford by Mitchell Pollington, ISBN 978187045352, £5.00.  Probably available from here, but not currently listed (Feb. 2014).  However, in the column on the left of their screen there's a 'Can't find what you want?' link where you could enquire.
 
Of course, if the book has managed to get onto this blog in the first place, there's some brick interest, along with some scale armour fragments ...:

Review: The Lion and the Lamb by John Henry Clay

This book review appeared in the Historical Novel Review Issue 65, November 2013:

Britannia in the 4th century is very different to the earlier centuries of Roman occupation. By this time, Roman rule is settled, with the elite deeming themselves Roman but still retaining some of the old tribal ideals. This is where the story of brother and sister Paul and Amanda and Irish Eachna is played out. Paul and Amanda live in the rich villa country of the south, but circumstances see Paul fleeing his home and joining the beleaguered Roman Army in the north. Meanwhile Amanda is witness to the wider politics of late Roman Britain in all its complexity. Eachna is enslaved, cruelly, and escapes southward toward Hadrian’s Wall and another life.

This book very much feels as though the author had ideas of the story he wanted to tell, perhaps showing how different the Late Roman era was from the earlier Empire. So a series of marks need to be hit, such as Christianity, politics, slavery, army, civilians, etc. But this means that the plot rather exceeds the characters. For the most part, the story of the individuals does not really leap off the page, except for a few scenes where it really shines. There are one or two slips in material culture: were there hairbrushes in 4th- century Britain? Would a character view the sky as being velvet? But overall the setting feels authentic, and the plot succeeds in showing that by the 4th century the Empire was becoming unstable, and changing into something very different.

This review can be found online on the Historical Novel Society's website at:  http://historicalnovelsociety.org/reviews/the-lion-and-the-lamb/

Review: Shadows in the Night By Jane Finnis

This book review Appeared in Historical Novel Review Issue 64, May 2013:

This is the first in Jane Finnis’ Aurelia Marcella Mysteries, so we are introduced to the eponymous heroine who is the manager of the Oak Tree Mansio – a way station for the Roman Army travelling to Eburacum – offering a comfortable bed for the night, good food, and a change of mount. A perfect place to see all the life and intrigue of Roman Britain go by. Her brother is the absentee owner of the place, so it is very much first-person narrator Aurelia’s business, which she runs with the help of her sister.

When Aurelia finds what she thinks at first is a dead body outside the Mansio, there is bound to be further trouble. This is recently colonised Britannia in the first century AD, and there is still a great division between the Romans and the Britons who accept the Roman way of life, and those Britons who resent the occupation. It is this that drives the story, and which makes it thoroughly plausible. Warmly recommended.
 
Online at: http://historicalnovelsociety.org/reviews/shadows-in-the-night/

NB: This book was  first published under the title 'Get out or die'

Romans in Ravenglass

Bit of a hiatus on this blog due to a move in job which ultimately proved rather difficult for me to maintain (too much travelling and a lot of covering for staff absences, involving frequent changing of days).  But the old warhorse is now out in the field again come this September. I will be at Ravenglass, helping my partner with his excavations! 

We visited the bathouse way back in the 1980s and still have some slides from that time. Little did we realise that we'd be revisiting it with a vengeance and to dig holes :)  Anyway, we're up in Cumbria for most of September, along with a few visits of a couple of days' duration to attend meetings and the like.  So it's a busy summer for us.

News: 'Roman' Mayan Tile

An interesting article from the internet, 2011:

"Comalcalco is a Mayan site surrounded by a rain forest in the Mexican state of Tabasco, It is the only Meso-American city constructed of fired bricks. (I will get to exactly what "fired bricks" are and where the process originated a little later) These ruins contain 372 mounds covering 40 sq. kilometers;so far only four of the 372 mounds have been completely excavated and they have revealed an acropolis,seven temples,two palaces,two structures and 20-30 tombs.
Found within these mounds were thousands of fired bricks that held inscriptions depicting animals,people,plants,houses,temples,ships,letters and sacred symbols but surprisingly many had Mediterranean elements with two even showing elephants!
In the early 1960's a preliminary site survey it was revealed two bricks with inscriptions on them.Afterwards between the years 1975-1978 Mexican archeologist Pancio Salazar,at the time working for the national institute of anthropology & history of Mexico (I.N.A.H) continued more excavations discovering forty six hundred inscribed bricks that were later examined.
Most of the inscriptions were recognizable as Mayan hieroglyphs.but a few turned out to be completely different,causing excitement and speculation.It was not until 1980 after Salazars death that the collection of bricks were photographed & cataloged by archeologist & epigrapher Neil Steede. 

Steede showed the photos to professor Barry Fell then leader & founder of 'the epigraphic society'.
Fell went onto publish a series of papers on the subject of the bricks for ESOP (The epigraphic society occasional papers) 'the Comalcalco bricks:part 1,the Roman phase' (published in Vol. 19)
Fell drew attention to what he called "Mason's Marks"out of the forty six hundred bricks examined,fifteen hundred were marked in this way.
What was so interesting about these marks was their striking similarity to Roman mason's marks found on similar bricks in Britain among other places.The Romans used these marks to keep a tally of individual productivity and slaves.
Each of their quarry slaves were required to produce close to two hundred bricks a day,by marking the bricks each slave made with his personal symbol,the slave could prove he was working at full speed.
 
Also it is believed that The Roman bricks are often stamped with the mark of the legion that supervised their production ..."


Read more at the website: http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread780080/pg1

Article: The Secret of the Roman Coin

The Secret of the Roman Coin: a serendipitous interview with Tom Harper

A series of coincidences brought about this interview with historical thriller author Tom Harper …

Sandy is an enthusiastic amateur archaeologist who lives in Malton, UK, and often goes fieldwalking in the area near the Roman fort of Derventio.  Mostly, she picks up pieces of Roman pottery, but one day she happened upon a bronze coin.  It was badly corroded and she wasn’t sure what date it was.  She brought it into work to show me, as she knew I was an archaeologist.  At first, I wasn’t even sure it was Roman, and then I saw what looked like an altar on the reverse of the coin and was convinced.   My partner is also an archaeologist and specialises in Roman coins so I took it home to him for proper identification.  After careful examination he came to the conclusion it was a coin of Crispus, a son of Constantine the Great, the 4^th century Roman emperor who made Christianity the official state religion.  Though not rare, the coin is not particularly common either.

Cut to the Festival of Writing in York a few weeks later.   I was attending on the Sunday only, and amongst the workshops  I went to was presented by Tom Harper, who talked about how he does his research.  But it was lunchtime when we were introduced to one another by conference organiser Kate Allan.  We talked things-historical and I mentioned that someone had brought in a Roman coin for me to look at.  And that it was a coin of Crispus.  Tom was surprised, particularly as his next novel  (The Secrets of the Dead ) includes Crispus. Tom was eager to handle the coin, and we all met up for a coffee a couple of months later.  He was able to see and touch a coin from the 4^th century, and one that is specifically tied to the person he has written about.

Tom was born in Germany in 1977, and partly brought up there, and in Belgium and America.  He went to Oxford University to study Modern History.  But at Oxford, modern is defined as being from the reign of Diocletian (AD285) onward!  So he was able to pick and choose from a wide range of history.  Rather than specialising in the Late Roman era or the medieval, he attended a mixture of courses – anything that took his fancy.  And this has proved to be a theme running through his writing.  His tutors noted that rather than his essays focussing on detail, he liked to investigate the big picture and tell a story.

After graduating, he took a job in insurance and eventually realised that it wasn’t for him, after the small company rapidly developed into a very large business.  Rather than starting with writing short stories, he tried his hand at writing a novel, preferring the larger canvas a book provides.  That novel was very much an apprentice piece and won’t see the light of day as Tom reckons it’s very silly.  Though he wryly notes that a few years ago a film was made which covered similar territory to his first attempt at writing.

What really set Tom’s writing career off was the Crime Writers’ Association’s Debut Dagger competition in 2001.  The award required 3,000 words and a synopsis.  Tom saw this as a good exercise rather than something that might actively further his writing career, and set about entering his idea for a novel about Martin Jerrold, a reluctant hero in Nelson’s navy.  Tom was surprised to get a call from the CWA asking if they could show his entry to some agents.  Of course he said yes!  His entry was a runner up in the competition, and he was subsequently signed up by an agent.

It all snowballed from there.   There was a bidding war been publishers and eventually Tom got a three book deal.  He was able to give up his job to concentrate on writing.  Because the first deadline for the series was quite long, he thought he could also write other books so suggested a Byzantine-set crime series.  This was picked up by another publisher, which led to the creation of a pen-name.

To keep the two series separate, he wrote the Byzantine series with the pen-name (Tom Harper), rather than his own name (Edwin Thomas) under which the Jerrold series was written.  He chose the surname Harper as he liked the connection that it has with medieval harpers who would also be story tellers.  And Tom, of course, was part of his real surname. Having two books to write a year proved hard going.  The first book was relatively easy, but as time went on, the deadlines got tougher to meet.  He’s now quite happy with long deadlines.

Unfortunately, the Jerrold books did not sell particularly well.  The first one did OK, but the other two didn’t do well, and the publisher decided not to continue after the third book.  But the Byzantine stories sold healthily.  These are set in the late 11^th century, at the time of the First Crusade, so Tom was able to get his crime-solving character to follow the progress of war.  The first book is set in Byzantium and the following two are set at the siege of Antioch and the capture of Jerusalem.  They are something of a hybrid in that the crime-solving element is somewhat overtaken by the events of the Crusade.

The last of the novels was finished late and came in very long.  It had to be edited right down and then extra bits written to ensure the story worked properly.  When Tom finally finished, he was pretty much burnt out and ready to move on.

Because Tom’s publisher unexpectedly had a vacant slot for their thriller of the month title, he decided to have a go at writing one.  Having greatly enjoyed watching an Indiana Jones film, he was inspired to write an archaeological based thriller set in 1947.  He had a deadline of six months, but in contrast to the last Byzantine book, writing the thriller was easy, disciplined and great fun.

Tom has moved into writing what could be called ‘Time Slip’ novels, in that they have a modern story and also an historical story.  So it’s half and half.  Tom reckons he’s having his cake and eating it, as it allows him to research historical themes whilst also having a modern element which can help put the history into context.  He  doesn’t have a particular historical period of interest which means he really can pick and choose where goes next.  So when you read his thrillers you may be surprised where he takes you.

Tom is sanguine about the rise of electronic publishing, as long as the price of them is similar to that of the hard copy.  All of his books, writing as Tom Harper, are available for Kindle.

He’s recently moved to different publisher and has another three book deal which will run from 2013 to 2015.  Tom lives in York, and thanks to his wife, who is a lecturer at the University, it looks like he’ll be living in this richly historical city for some time to come.

Tom’s experience with the Crispus coin came too late to be worked into Secrets of the Dead, but it played a vivid role in bringing the author very close to the subject of his research.  You’ll have to read the book to find out what role Crispus has!

This article first appeared in the Historical Novels Review, November 2011, pages 13-14

Book Review: Empire: Fortress of the Spears by Anthony Riches

EMPIRE: FORTRESS OF SPEARS

Anthony Riches, Hodder & Stoughton, 2011, £12.99, hb, 340pp, 9780340920367

Young Marcus Aquila (calling himself Centurion Corvus) has hidden himself in the Roman Army, and is serving in one of Rome’s most far-flung outposts: the northern frontier in Britannia. But the emperor’s assassins are closing in, wanting to kill Marcus.  Meanwhile, he’s fighting a hard and nasty campaign against the Caledonian tribes. Will Marcus survive the dirty war, and will the assassins catch up with him?

This is the third outing for Riches’ Empire series set in the late 2^nd century. The author chooses, for the most part, to use translations of the Roman names of places, so that those of us who have learnt the Latin names are left wondering which fort is being referred to. There is a map in the front of the book, fortunately, but it doesn’t include the Roman name of, for example, White Strength, so we need to be certain of our geography. 

Riches subscribes to the Scarrow School of Roman Swearing, so readers of a delicate disposition be warned. The harsh realities of war are to the fore, and this novel is firmly in the historical adventure genre. Madcap heroic deeds, violence, intrigue and mayhem all make this a perfect book for fans of tales of the Roman Army.

(This review first appear in the Historical Novels Review, August 2011)

West Offices, York

West Offices is a site currently (July 2011) being dug in the centre of York. Of interest to this blog are the tile finds, including 9th Hispana tiles and circular pila tiles. Here's a few pix, courtesy of Duncan Stirk's flickr album:

9th Hispana tile stamp:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dstirk/5884302627/

The almost regulation hobnail imprint tile:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dstirk/5877933554/

Circular pila tile:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dstirk/5860056121/

And here's a brief news report on the dig's open day in June:

http://www.yorkpress.co.uk/news/9107142.Roman_findings_go_on_show/

And a bit more information about the site over time:

http://www.yorkpress.co.uk/features/features/6336299.City_of_York_Council_s_new_HQ_at_West_Offices/

Housestead Roman fort - the grandest station

Housesteads, a major fort on Hadrian's Wall has recently been published and is available as a 2 volume free download here:

http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/publications/housesteads-roman-fort/

Volume two has a brick and tile report, so it's well worth a look for brick fans :) It can be found on pages 358 to 362.

The Pevensey Bricks

A great article by Miles Russell about the fake HON AVG ANDRIA tile stamps, amongst other fakes by Charles Dawson (yes, he of Piltdown Man fame!). The stamp can be seen on the tile at the bottom left of this picture from Miles' site.

http://www.bournemouth.ac.uk/caah/landscapeandtownscapearchaeology/piltdown_man_k.html