1. The production of Roman glass with western Mediterranean sand raw materials: preliminary results.
- Author
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Brems D., Boyen S., Degryse P., Ganio M., Brems D., Boyen S., Degryse P., and Ganio M.
- Abstract
Pliny the Elder described the production of glass using sand from the Belus River in Israel and the Volturno River in Italy and also mentioned that glass was similarly made in France and Spain, although no direct archaeological evidence has ever been found to support glass production in these regions. The possible existence of a Roman glass industry in the western Mediterranean was investigated based on the occurrence of suitable sand raw materials. A total of 178 beach sands from France, Spain and Italy were evaluated for their suitability for glass production by calculating the composition of hypothetical glasses made from the sands and comparing them with Roman natron glass. Only six limited areas could be defined where suitable sand would have been available to the Roman glassmaker, with the best glass-making sand occurring in the Basilicata region in southeast Italy between the mouth of the River Basento and the River Bradano. Melting experiments were carried out to test the suitability of the suggested sands., Pliny the Elder described the production of glass using sand from the Belus River in Israel and the Volturno River in Italy and also mentioned that glass was similarly made in France and Spain, although no direct archaeological evidence has ever been found to support glass production in these regions. The possible existence of a Roman glass industry in the western Mediterranean was investigated based on the occurrence of suitable sand raw materials. A total of 178 beach sands from France, Spain and Italy were evaluated for their suitability for glass production by calculating the composition of hypothetical glasses made from the sands and comparing them with Roman natron glass. Only six limited areas could be defined where suitable sand would have been available to the Roman glassmaker, with the best glass-making sand occurring in the Basilicata region in southeast Italy between the mouth of the River Basento and the River Bradano. Melting experiments were carried out to test the suitability of the suggested sands.