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Topographical contour map of the landscape banking the Stour in local beeswax and mud from Erwarton Bay on a 1:50,000 scale.

The mud from Erwarton Bay is reddish ochre in colour and heavy with clay. The Romans used this Suffolk clay to make bricks from AD 43 - AD 410. The art was then lost until the Middle Ages. You can still walk the length of the remains of the old Sea Wall at low tide and see in the dark mud, ochre patches where the bricks fell while being loaded into waiting boats, over time dissolving back into the mud. Because of the high clay content, the consistency on the paper is beautifully smooth.