Lead provenance for medieval decorated tile glazes from Brittany and Anjou (13th-14th c.)

Medieval pavements composed of lead-glazed tiles decorated with a variety techniques continue to inspire questions about the organisation glaze manufacture, and supply origin lead materials. The analysed in this study are from Suscinio I (a 13th-century pavement) II 14th-century pavement), at Château Brittany, also pavement fortified manor house Brain-sur-Allonnes, Anjou. Lead isotope analysis (LIA) was used examine samples 44 tiles, 29 which transparent, while 15 tin-opacified (an exogenous technique these regions during period). Five out six LIA groups thus identified favour site-specific networks, results for remaining group, LIA5, indicate multi-site network. After combining archaeological historical data, most likely provenance materials LIA5 is Derbyshire, British Isles. Both importation ready-to-use glazing mixtures use neighbouring mines can now therefore be discounted as plausible hypotheses production lead-glaze study.