Welsh Journals

thoroughly, the glaze is heavier, green or brown-toned. The group also contains two separated spouts of cisterns. One sherd has a wheel-stamp, in high relief, cf. Ashton kiln. I suggest the latter part of the thirteenth century into the fourteenth century for this group. It is very difficult to be more precise in the paucity of dated fourteenth century material for comparison. 3. Roofing-Tiles Several fragments of glazed ridge-tiles. All are well baked and the glaze is thick but matt, green or purplish-toned. Two pieces are from the end of a ridge- tile. These have the unusual feature of an applied finger-printed strip following the edge of the tile. The tiles have cresting, not continuous as is usual in the Marches and South Wales, but the peaks are separate, 3-4 inches apart*. They are pinched up by hand into a tall peak or cone and the sides are heavily slashed on most only one is plain. One piece has a curious flat-sided peak, rectangular in profile, but still modelled by hand. The development of ridge-tiles has been worked out as follows:- Thirteenth-oentury tiles are ill-baked, the glaze is poor and the cresting is moulded by hand. Fourteenth-century tiles show developments in technique. They are better fired, the glazes are richer and cresting is sharp and cut by a knife. This sequence is based on finds from Ogmore Castle, Glamorganshire, (Antiquaries Journal, XV. 324); Kidwelly Castle, Carmarthenshire (Archaeologia, LXXXIII, 119); and Burrow Mump, Somerset (Proc. Somerset Arch. Soc. LXXXIV, 125). Comparison with these series shows a general similarity of technique and treatment of the cresting on the Hen Bias tiles, but there are marked differences from the usual pattern, as shown by the moulding of the high peaks, their wide spacing, and the finger-printed strip along the end edges. In view of these diver- gencies, it can only be suggested that the ridge-tiles are, at the earliest, late thirteenth century, but more probably fourteenth century." Pottery and small finds will be figured in the next report. 4 Medieval Pottery Kiln at Ashton, near Chester, by R. Newatead. Liverpool Annate, Vol. xxi. Nos. 1-2. Since Mr. Dunning wrote these notes it has been found possible to reconstruct a ridge-tile. It has 3 peaks, 7 in. apart and measures 17 in. long, 9 in. wide at base and 5 in. high. Pinched ridge tiles were found at Llys Edwin and given a 13th century dating. (Op. cit. p. 3).