An Analysis of Roman Ceramic Building Material from York and its Immediate Environs

This study comprises the analysis of 8.11 tonnes of Roman tile from York and its immediate hinterland. The tile was recovered from 215 archaeological investigations undertaken by York Archaeological Trust, together with the tile from excavations at Heslington East undertaken by the Department of Archaeology of the University of York. The tile was analysed in terms of the chronological and spatial variations present, the results being examined in relation to three widely debated research themes, namely the nature and speed of Romanization, the role of the Roman army, and the economic relationship of the town to its hinterland.
Given that the use of tile was introduced to Britain by the Romans, and that it formed a key element of classical architecture, the speed of its adoption has been used to show that the process of Romanization occurred slowly in the York area, with many of the buildings outside the fortress reflecting state-sponsored building-campaigns, rather than the spontaneous growth of a Romanized town. Tile, in conjunction with Ebor Ware pottery, was produced by the military, primarily to supply its own needs, and the study has shown that the army were by far both the largest producers and consumers of tile in York, with 99 percent of tile stamps being military. Although a civilian tile industry must have existed in York, as a small number of civilian tile stamps are present, this industry clearly failed to develop on any scale, suggesting that there was insufficient demand for tile to support such an industry.
The study is accompanied by appendices cataloguing each form of tile, the fabrics and fabric groups present, and the surface markings seen, together with details of the stratigraphic sequences for twenty-one representative sites selected for detailed chronological analysis.