A rudimentary treatise ...

Another link courtesy of friend Bryan!  This time it links to a scanned in copy of A rudimentary treatise on the manufacture of bricks and tiles: containing an outline of the principles of brickmaking by Edward Dobson (1880)

http://www.archive.org/stream/practicalbrickti00dobs#page/n7/mode/2up

Brick is beautiful

A brick link courtesy of friend Bryan!

This first one, I'm not sure about.  Love the pix of brix, but not sure about the ladies ...

Brick is Beautiful. Fun music video celebrating the beauty of brick on behalf of www.brickdirectory.co.uk with music by EspadaRolls: 
http://www.archive.org/details/BrickIsBeautiful

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)

Medieval roof tile stamp - Agnus Dei

 

Roof tile stamps have only been a very minor feature of my cbm career as I've only seen one or two.  But today, I came across one in a publication and was mightily impressed.  I've long known about the cbm powerhouse of East Yorkshire, but this example is outstanding.  

It is Agnus Dei - Lamb of God, a pretty typical medieval motif, but to see it on a roof tile is wonderful.  It probably comes from a seal and it's speculated that the tile was part of a batch that was 'blessed' or approved by the seal owner.  I hope the authors don't mind the scan I took of the back cover of the publication. The details of the Agnus Dei tile are fully discussed.  

The full details are: 

Archaeological Investigations at Morton Lane, Beverley, East Yorkshire by R McNaught and A Webb, Archaeological Services WYAS Publications, 2005.

The cbm report details are: Ceramic building material by J Tibbles, pages 21-24.

The whole publication can be obtained by visiting this website.

Other cbm includes: tile discs, brick weights and brick net weight/sinker and a ridge tile with finial hole.  Unfortunately, these aren't illustrated.

Fiction: Secrets of the Dead by Tom Harper

Secrets of the Dead is a thriller and a a time slip novel.  There are two stories running in tandem, sometimes reflecting each other.  In present day Kosovo, EULEX employee Abby is having a weekend away with her boyfriend, but something happens that turns her world upside down. She discovers a conspiracy and needs to get to the bottom of it to see justice done.  Gaius, in the fourth century Roman Empire is called to Emperor Constantine's presence and tasked to solve a murder.  But Gaius has his own ghosts. Regardless, he pursues the mystery of the murder, despite knowing that he faces deep peril.

For the most part, the reader gets alternate chapters of the modern day and the Roman Empire.  It's an absorbing story, with plenty of twists and turns.  In particular, Harper is very adept at leaving a chapter on a cliff hanger.  Being rather impatient to find out what was going to happen, occasionally I skipped a chapter to find out the resolution of whatever situation the major character way in!  But for the most part, I stayed with the author's set path and galloped my way through this exciting story of the effects of our ancient and very recent past.


Tom Harper's website

An interview with Tom Harper in York's Press

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