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layers, and later the stack was strewn with building refuse (year 1988 excavation report written by J.
Graudonis, 11 pp. Kept in TMR archives). In the list of building materials attached to the excavation
report yet 74 other flat tiles are mentioned that were found in the cultural layer of the same stratum.
The stack of tiles uncovered that year and also in the next year was left in its place in the corner of the
room. Unfortunately, the excavation documents contain no mention of the fact when this storage was
liquidated and howmany tiles it had contained. It is also unknown whether these were new tiles or already
used ones. As can be seen in the general-view photograph of the stack the flat roof tiles had a triangular
bottom part. Currently in the collection of Turaida Museum Reserve there are several dozens of whole
samples of flat tiles with triangular bottom edge (Fig. 26). Their length sizes differ by 3–5 cm. According
to their shape and the visual appearance of the material it is still difficult to tell whether they were made
simultaneously.
As was mentioned before, flat tiles in Bauska Castle were applied in the second half of the 16
th
century,
but elsewhere in Latvia these were used still in the 17
th
century, and were produced in small amounts
even in mid-18
th
century. What time period would be the correct one for dating Turaida flat tiles? In the
northern outer bailey nearby the place where the storage of flat tiles was uncovered, in the 17
th
century,
the Swedes built a redoubt. They hardly placed a stack of building materials in front of it. It is more
feasible that the tiles were stacked during the Polish times, in the late 16
th
century. Probably it was then
planned to change the roof covering for some building, but the designed repair works were discontinued
due to some unknown reasons. Probably these were the events of 1601 when Turaida Castle that was
at that time managed by Poles was taken by the Swedish troops for almost a year (Malvess 2014, 242).
Therefore, Turaida flat tiles with the triangular bottom part could be dated from the “Polish time” – the
second half of the 16
th
century.
On the surface of several Turaida flat tiles simple marks have been found, which had been drawn
in wet clay with a finger, or with a sharp stick. These include a six-ray flower or a star, an oblique cross,
a three-branched fork, two triangles joined with a line (Graudonis 2005, II, Table 61). Possibly, at least
some of them were masters’ marks used to designate definite production. However, the possibility cannot
be excluded that it is a simple decoration – maybe these are the so-called “last tiles of the day”.
S-type or “Dutch” roof tiles
S-type or “Dutch” roof tiles have a cross-section of a curved “S”. Viewing from above this tile is
shaped as a rectangle with two diagonally opposite corners cleaved off. These tiles are considered to be
a developed and improved version of Monk and Nun roofing material. The S-type roof tile was created
when the upper “monk” and the lower “nun” were merged in a single article. Thus the way of making
tiles was simplified and a lighter roofing material was obtained. As the roof was covered with S-type
tiles the downward bent edge of one tile overlapped the upward bent edge of another one. The upper,
diagonally cleaved off corner of the tile of the lower layer supported the lower diagonally cleaved off
corner of a tile from the upper layer. A roof covered with S-type tiles combined the visual expressiveness
of both the previous ones – Monk and Nun and flat tile roofs. It was a rather relief one and the oblique
grooves allowed rainwater to flow down freely. Moreover, the corrugated surface of the roof created the