C. M. Jackson

ROMAN GLASS-MAKING AT COPPERGATE, YORK? ANALYTICAL EVIDENCE FOR THE NATURE OF PRODUCTION*

Ceramic vessels and associated vitreous debris, excavated at Coppergate, York, UK, have been interpreted as the remains of Roman glass-making from the raw materials. This paper reports the results of analysis of this assemblage by XRF, ICPS, XRD, SEM–EDAX and thin-section petrography. These findings suggest that some ceramic vessels, used as crucibles, have been subjected to temperatures up to 1200°C, well above the firing temperatures of the local domestic assemblage from which they were selected. Analysis of quartz-rich debris, intimately mixed with glass in some samples and in others interleaved with glassy phases, indicates partially reacted glass-making raw materials, with α-quartz, tridymite and cristoballite phases represented. This could represent evidence either of a failed attempt to frit the raw materials, or a batch that had not fully fused. Variability in the composition of glass at the site is viewed in the light of glass-making technology, and possible interpretations concerning this episode are discussed in the light of the archaeological evidence.

The Ulu Burun glass ingots, cylindrical vessels and Egyptian glass

This paper examines a possible Egyptian origin for the glass ingots discovered in the Ulu Burun shipwreck off the Turkish coast and seeks to relate them to cylindrical vessels believed to be ingot moulds from Tell el-Amarna. A preliminary distinction between types of Ulu Burun ingot is also suggested and a comparison made between the ingot moulds from Amarna and those from Qantir.

Variable Selection in Artefact Compositional Studies

In artefact compositional studies, the selection of variables to use in analysis is unavoidable. Given this ubiquity, surprisingly little attention has been paid to ways in which variables might be selected. After arguing the case for the importance of variable selection, two systematic approaches to making a choice, which have had little or no application in archaeometry, are discussed and illustrated. One, based on the use of principal components, is appropriate if structure in the data is not known. The other, based on the use of classification trees, is applicable when there are known or assumed groups in the data.

Rich refuse: a rare find of late 17th-century and mid-18th-century glass and tin-glazed wares from an excavation at the National Gallery, London

Abstract Fieldwork undertaken at the National Gallery in 2001–02 revealed Middle-Saxon pits and 17th- and 18th-century construction phases. The latter sequence comprised the remains of two builds of cellars associated with tenements at Dukes Court, a former street on the northern side of the Royal Mews. An exceptional collection of glassware and tin-glazed plates was recovered from these cellars. It must have come from prosperous households and documents an early and significant stage in the development of English glass manufacture. The paper examines the glass and associated finds from the post-medieval features.

Glass-making and the Sixth Legion at York

It has long been accepted that the Roman soldier was as likely to be engaged in craft or building activities as he was in specifically military ones such as fighting or drill practice. Vegetius listed the specialists that could be expected in a legion. They included builders of various types, people who could make vehicles, armourers, and weaponsmiths. The soldiers in auxiliary units also needed similar skills as the lists dating to the beginning of the second century at Vindolanda make clear. These gave details of the numbers of men engaged in different activities, and noted builders, shoemakers, and men working at some type of kiln or furnace. The archaeological evidence shows that the range of craftsmen was a large one. Potting industries were set up when the local potters did not provide the suite of vessels the soldiers required. Metalsmiths turned their hands to enamelled vessels as well as utilitarian items with a more obviously military function such as harness-fittings and studs. This paper will explore another possible facet of military craftsmanship, that of the manufacture and working of glass which is suggested by the recovery of glass-melting pots and partially reacted glass batch material at 16–22 Coppergate, York.

Glassmaking using natron from el-Barnugi (Egypt); Pliny and the Roman glass industry

Pliny the Elder describes the discovery of a process for making natron glass, which was widely used for much of the first millennium bc and ad. His account of glassmaking with natron has since been corroborated by analyses of archaeological glass and the discovery of large-scale glass production sites where natron glass was made and then exported. Analyses of Egyptian natron have shown it to be a complex mixture of different sodium compounds, and previous experiments to make glass with Egyptian natron have been unsuccessful. Here, natron from el-Barnugi in the Egyptian Nile delta, a site which also probably supplied Roman glassmakers, is used to produce glass. The experiments show that high-quality glass, free of unreacted batch or bubbles, could have been produced from natron in its unprocessed form in a single stage, that larger quantities of natron would be required than has previously been anticipated, that the presence of different sodium-containing compounds in the deposit aided melting, and that negligible waste is produced. The implications for the identification of glass production sites, for the organisation of trade and for the supply of natron within and outside Egypt are discussed in the light of Pliny’s accounts.

GLASS RECIPES AND THE OUTPUT FROM A 19TH-CENTURY GLASS WORKS: EXAMPLES FROM PERCIVAL, VICKERS & CO. LTD, MANCHESTER

Abstract Excavations by Oxford Archaeology North in 2003 revealed extensive structural remains of the former Percival, Vickers and Co. Ltd glass works, one of the principal 19th-century glass manufactories in Manchester. A detailed account of the excavated remains, focusing on the significant developments in furnace design inherent in the exposed structures, has already been published in volume 29.1 (2007) of the Review. However, an in-depth analysis of the 187kg of glass fragments recovered from the excavation was omitted, and this shortcoming is addressed in the present paper. Scientific analysis of the glass compositions revealed that a variety of recipes were used, and these related closely to the different ways that glass was being worked on site, as evidenced by the various types of waste. A relatively small but nevertheless significant number of vessel fragments were also recovered, allowing the output of the glass works to be characterised for the first time.

The anomaly of glass beads and glass beadmaking waste at Jiuxianglan, Taiwan

Glass beads and beadmaking waste have been excavated at the Iron Age site of Jiuxianglan (ca. third century BC–eighth century AD) in southeastern Taiwan. It was suggested that this site may be a production and exchange centre of glass beads in Iron Age Taiwan. This paper presents the analysis of 44 samples, to explore the relationship between glass beads and waste and the nature of bead production at Jiuxianglan. The analysis combines data on style, chemical composition, microstructure and distribution of glass beads and waste. The results do not show a compositional or structural match between the glass beads and glass waste, suggesting that the glass beads may not have been produced at this site.

Glass of Amenhotep II from tomb KV55 in the Valley of the Kings.

Among the purported finds from KV55 is a piece of glass bearing the cartouche of Amenhotep II. This paper reviews the evidence for the discovery of this early fragment, and examines its composition with a view to determining its likely manufacturing origin. Comparison of the glass with some of the earliest Egyptian glass from reign of Thutmose III establishes that it may have been one of the earliest glasses actually manufactured in Egypt.