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Description: | Fragment of a Medieval ceramic floor tile. It consists of only around a quarter of the original tile - one corner. The remains of a glazed design can still be seen clearly on the upper face. This consists of an olive background, with a lighter whitish pattern. The outer section of this pattern is curved, suggesting that it may have originally formed a complete circle. Adjoining this circle, a bar with a fleur de lis in the centre extends towards the middle of the tile, but the end of this has been lost.
The unglazed areas of the tile vary in colour from greyish to orange-red. Part of the glaze extends down one edge of the tile. The reverse face of the tile has an indentation towards one corner. This is an example of the practice of ??keying??, by which shell-shaped or conical holes (usually four) were dug out of the reverse of tiles prior to firing to aid bedding or levelling when the tiles were eventually used (Lowe 2003, 6-7).
This tile is possibly similar to examples 141 and 144 listed in 'Decorated Medieval Floor Tiles of Somerset', (Lowe 2003, 78). Number 141 comes from Wells Cathedral, whilst 144 comes from Glastonbury Abbey. The design on these is similar, consisting of a circular border around the edge of the tile, divided in two by a thin central bar which reaches either part way or all the way up the centre. This bar is decorated with symmetrical fleur de lis designs in various positions. Either side of the bar are two birds varying in form. These tiles appear to have been designed so that they would sit on end, forming a diamond pattern when placed together.
The design on this particular tile could be similar to these mentioned by Lowe, though the limited amount of remaining pattern makes it difficult to be certain. Indeed a small light patch to one side of the central bar could even conceivably be part of the head of a bird.
However, the tiles that Lowe mentions appear to vary slightly in colour from this one. Nonetheless, other tiles with very similar bird designs are listed as having olive and green glazes. All of these tiles date to around the late 13th to 14th centuries, suggesting a similar date for this one.
Length: 86.4mm, Width: 73.0mm, Thickness: 27.8mm
Weight: 201.0mm | Source: | Portable Antiquities | Creator: | Booth, Anna - Portable Antiquities Scheme | Identifier: | http://www.findsdatabase.org.uk/hms/pas_... | Language: | en-GB | Go to resource |
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