Une couverture en tuiles creuses glaçurées du xiie siècle : le bâtiment d’accueil de l’abbaye de Marmoutier (Tours, Indre-et-Loire)

Abstract

The excavation of the Marmoutier monastery guesthouse, built in the late 12th c., revealed an older building, of which three walls had been preserved and integrated into the new building. Significant layers of construction rubble contained numerous stone elements and a substantial quantity of glazed curved tiles equipped with a hook. These were deposited after the destruction of the older building, which dates back to the early 12th c. Two complementary types of tiles were found: pans, fixed to the wooden frame of the roof, and covers, placed on top to them. A third type, characterized by a single large hook, could be interpreted as ridge tiles. These terracotta elements were found alongside many pieces of mortar, used to link the tiles together. This ensemble of tiles, found in a secular building within a prestigious religious establishment, allows for a better understanding of a roof-making technique rarely observed as early as the beginning of the 12th c. (traduction Cécile Lagane).

Keywords

• Middle Ages
• monastery
• Benedictine monks
• monastic guesthouse
• building materials
• architectural terracotta