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game of lights-and-shades, the covering had both the vertical division and a rhythmically recurrent wavy
horizontal ornament on the wall of the building.
It is considered that the most ancient S-type roof tiles were made in Flanders in the 15th century
(Bender 1995, 51, 272). From the name of its neighbouring Holland the designation – Dutch roof tiles
was derived in German and also Latvian written sources, since their export was started from there in
the second half of the 16th century. In Europe they were more widely distributed in the 17th century and
after slight changes of their appearance they have been in use until nowadays. Soon the production of
this new form of roof tiles was taken over by the local brick-kilns, therefore they can only theoretically
be called “Dutch” roof tiles. For example, in northern Germany, in the brick-kiln of Lüneburg such tiles
were produced from 1589 to 1603. Every season several tens of thousands articles were made but after
that their production was discontinued and Monk and Nun tiles were manufactured again (Rümelin
1998, 41). It is unknown whether the Lüneburg town dwellers were too conservative or the roof tiles of
the more ancient form were more suitable to the climatic conditions of northern Germany.
Possibly, the 156 “boards for roof tile making” (Dunsdorfs 1937, 44), mentioned in the year 1629
inventory report of Jelgava brick-kiln, are meant exactly for making of S-type tiles. Flat tiles were not
made on boards but clay was pressed into the mould that had only side edges. In the 17th century, roof
tiles were produced both in the brick-kiln of Ungurmuiža and of Kuldīga (Zeida 1962, 146), but the shape
of these tiles is not described in the documents. Only in the year 1740 documents of Jelgava kiln there
are mentioned more than 10 thousand simultaneously made roof tiles, 266 ridge tiles and 2500 flat tiles,
but in 1746 – more than 57 thousand roof tiles, 1100 ridge tiles and 650 flat tiles (Zeida 1962, 144, 146).
It is unknown why roofing materials of two different shapes were made simultaneously. Probably the
flat tiles made in small numbers were individual orders for roof repairs of old buildings or replacement
of them with tiles similar to the previous ones. Presumably, in the 17th–18th centuries, there was mass
production of exactly S-type roof tiles which are not specifically designated in the kiln’s documentation.
In written sources detailed information about the shape of tiles is scarce. Until now an unequivocally
understandable designation has been found only in the inventory report of Piņķi Estate that had existed
not far fromRiga – in 1675 “Dutch roof tiles” were purchased (Landvogtei 1931, 131, 335, 553). However, it
is unknown whether these were brought across the sea by boats, or were made on the spot, modelled after
“Dutch” samples. Since in German S-type or Dutch roof tiles were designated as S-Pfannen or holländische
Pfannen (Bender 1995, 213, 214, 272), it is presumable that the names Pfannen and Dachpfannen in
the inventory reports of Vidzeme and Zemgale castles, of the second half of the 17th century and early
18th century, can be refered exactly to roof tiles of this shape. Still there are different designations of tiles
in German in descriptions of Bauska Castle – in 1650 as Pfannen and Ziegeldach, in 1695 as Dachpfannen,
but in 1698 as Dachstein (Bauska 2010, 150–152, 159, 161). Possibly these were used as synonyms, still it
cannot be excluded that particular buildings were roofed with variously shaped tiles that were designated
in a different way. Probably part of them were cheaper, or old.
In archaeological excavations in Bauska Castle S-type or Dutch roof tiles were found in the layer that
had been created after a roof repair in the first half of the 17th century, and in 17th-century layers these
have been found in large quantities (Fig. 27) (Caune 1982, 70). This is evidence that at that time these
roof tiles became the most widespread roofing material in Bauska Castle. Whereas in Kuldīga Castle