EXCAVATIONS ON THE SITE OF LAUNCESTON PRIORY. 93 



being of si][uared. local free-stone. Internally the faces of the 

 walls were plastered, the plastering in many places still retaining 

 coloured designs in vermilion, yellow, and black. The site being 

 a marshy one, the foundations were carried down to a great depth, 

 the floor line being 5 feet, and the bottom of foundations from 

 10 to 11 feet, below the present ground line. The footings, or 

 bottoms of the walls were built with courses of stone set on 

 edge, each course sloping in a contrary direction to the one 

 above it, just like one sees herring-bone hedging built in the 

 moor districts now. These courses of stone were not set in 

 mortar, thus the moisture drained through them, and left the 

 superstructures dry. I only noticed one instance of wooden 

 piles having been used, and that was under the foundation of 

 the eastern wall of St. Grabriel's Chapel, where a few blackened 

 posts were excavated. 



The floors of the Church throughout the excavations were 

 formed as follows : — A layer of stones was set on edge, earth 

 thrown over them, and then rammed down level, on this, thin 

 slates were laid, and on the slates, encaustic tiles. In addition 

 to the great number of loose fragments of these tiles, I happily 

 discovered one small portion entire, and also some full sized ones 

 bearing capital letters, &c. The entire piece was in St. 

 G-abriel's Chapel, close to its eastern wall, and it is singular that 

 all the heraldic tiles, and most of those with capital letters on 

 them, came from that site. The arms depicted are those of 

 Eoyal personages, that of Richard, Earl of Cornwall, being the 

 most conspicuous. The tiles found within the walls of the 

 Presbytery were almost all of geometrical patterns. Some few 

 with capital letters came out of the south Chapel. All the entire 

 tiles, and all the fragments that could be saved, are now in the 

 Launceston Museum. At Cleeve, Glastonbury, and Wells, are 

 ancient tiles very similar to those found at Launceston. 



There were signs of a step from the Nave floor to the 

 Chapels, and the Presbytery, and projecting from the north wall 

 of the latter, I found the foundation of the stall seats. 



Numerous pieces of beautifully moulded arch stones, small 

 circular shafts, window tracery, red ridge tiles, lead dowels 



