Reconnecting Roman Britain Paper Ideas
Reconnecting is the key word here
Indicates that findings must present Britain in the light of the Continent
Best bet is therefore probably link between Britain and Gaul for tilemaking
Discuss hollow voussoirs and possible invention by Gauls
Discuss evidence for Sussex workshop
e.g. BIIL graffiti and other Celtic names on tiles
WH tile form at Bath, in parallel with Gaulish stonemason evidence
Armchair voussoirs used widely in France, but less commonly in Britain
New finds of armchair voussoirs at Little London and Brandier's Farm
West Sussex area has yielded range of evidence for substantial connections with Gaul in late Iron Age, e.g. cemeteries, recent elite burial, etc.
HVs widely adopted in Britain instead
Armchair voussoirs had direct potentail to inspire HV invention
Main problem with armchair is connection to other heating elements, as half of system is solid, and many Roman heating components are not weight bearing
Other French forms may have been developed in effort to overcome these limitations, e.g. tiles with cutouts used to form vertical flue
Lancaster also noted that many eary uses of AV were not in heated structures, even when double tiles used to form channel. Suggests reduction in moisture, especially if roofed with a pitched timber roof above.
Best evidence for origin of HV system is probably in roof of Spring Res at Bath
Alternating solid ribs and sections of HVs echoes alternation of solid AV ribs and enclosed spaces
Here HVs used to reduce overall weight of roof, especially in a very moisture-prone environment unsuited for timbs
HVs and solid ribs had advantage over AVs in that components themselves appear less likely to have broken during transport/loading, as fewer odd protruding elements
Introduces a problem, however, as earliest HVs appear to have channels running laterally for the movement of hot air
Hollow voussoirs and the movement of tilemakers between Britain and Gaul
I will be talking about Roman ceramic building materials, and evidence for the movement of tilemakers and ideas between the provinces
Specifically will be discussing a few components used to build vaulted rooves, generally in bathhouses and often heated