North Eastern Railway Tile Maps

This tile map is from Middlesbrough station, but there's also one at York station which I see on a work day, as I pass by destined for the bus-stop outside the station.  The maps are wonderful to look at, and you can see all the now-defunct stations in the area. 

The maps date from about 1903 when the Northern Eastern Railway was at its height.  The maps were placed at various NER stations, but not all survive to the present day - for further information go the NER website.

Late medieval brick in London Wall

A pdf version of Terence Paul Smith's 2004 article in the London Archaeologist The Late Medieval bricks and brickwork of London Wall in St Alphage Garden, EC2

Field Drainage Tiles and Pipes

An enquirer sent me this link, which is about Field Drains. It's from The Museum of Rural Life, but also includes a scanned in document from the former Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, now Defra. This MAFF document includes drawings of their collection of field drains, complete with measurements. The pdf as a whole serves as an excellent introduction to the wonderful world of field drains :)

Caerleon 2011 - hypocaust revealed

Think they're bessalis size. Yay!

Binchester/Vinovia

With a site boasting the best Roman baths remains in the country (probably), Binchester is a must for the tile fan. In this case, a tile fan without her camera (the pic above is from Stanford Univ's website), but I shall return to the site in one guise or another and will take my best camera with me.

Meanwhile, a bit of information about the site:

This is the Durham County Council website, with visiting details:

http://www.durham.gov.uk/Pages/Service.aspx?ServiceId=6646


There's an excavation taking place there until 2014, and here's the associated blog, which details the finds, both artefact and site specific:

http://binchester.blogspot.com/

A couple of recent publications are now in discerning bookshops:

Vinovia by Iain Ferris

and

The Beautiful Rooms are Empty: Excavations at Binchester Roman Fort, 1976-1981 and 1986-1991 by Iain Ferris

Frankly, I don't think the beautiful rooms are empty, because they are full of tile! btw, some of the tile from the site can be seen in Bowes Museum, and I have some photos of those somewhere ...

Dura-Europos: Crossroads of Antiquity

Looks like some or one of these tiles may now be on show at Mount Scopos in Israel, but previously to that, there were tiles on show at the Dura-Europos: Crossroads of Antiquity exhibition in the US. See the article here: http://www.bc.edu/offices/pubaf/news/2011/duraeuropos01272011.html

And here's a tile (which is clay with a layer of alabaster) from the ceiling of a 3rd century building :


It shows Heliodoros, an actuarius, Dura-Europos, L7, House of Scribes.

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/