Posted on 07/11/2020 3:58:42 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
An international team of researchers have found a way to determine the origin of colourless glass from the Roman period. Using isotopes of the rare element hafnium, they confirm that the prestigious 'Alexandrian' glass was indeed made in Egypt...
The Roman glass industry was prolific, producing wares for drinking and dining, window panes and coloured glass 'stones' for wall mosaics. One of its outstanding achievements was the production of large quantities of a colourless and clear glass, which was particularly favoured for high-quality cut drinking vessels. The fourth-century Price Edict of the emperor Diocletian refers to colourless glass as 'Alexandrian', indicating an origin in Egypt. However, large amounts of Roman glass are known to have been made in Palestine, where archaeologists have uncovered furnaces for colourless glass production. Such furnaces have not been uncovered in Egypt, and hitherto, it has been very challenging to scientifically tell the difference between glass made in the two regions...
"Hafnium isotopes have proved to be an important tracer for the origins of sedimentary deposits in geology, so I expected this isotope system to fingerprint the sands used in glassmaking", states Gry Barfod. Professor at Aarhus University Charles Lesher, co-author of the publication, continues: "The fact that this expectation is borne out by the measurements is a testament of the intimate link between archaeology and geology."
Hafnium isotopes have not previously been used by archaeologists to look at the trade in ancient man-made materials such as ceramics and glass. Co-author Professor Ian Freestone, University College London, comments, "These exciting results clearly show the potential of hafnium isotopes in elucidating the origins of early materials. I predict they will become an important part of the scientific toolkit used in our investigation of the ancient economy."
(Excerpt) Read more at eurekalert.org ...
Wonder if this was because of middle men adulterating the supply
That's probably where the term "hafnium breed" come from.
Of course, if you drop the glass and it breaks, it's not got less than hafnium.
Lol
I wonder if it was shipped as cullet rather than sand?
I seem to remember a rather large glass slab discovered
in the Serapeum. I wouldn’t think it was of this quality
though.
I think I read somewhere that her first celebrity bang was Warren Beatty, who picked her up as a hitchhiker and did her in his car. And I think Cher said the same thing.
Corning Museum of Glass
Corning, New York
founded in 1951 by Corning Glass Works ... more than 50,000 glass objects, some over 3,500 years old.
Address: 1 Museum Way, Corning, NY 14830
Phone: (607) 937-5371
https://home.cmog.org
Egypt was made famous for their cups when Julius Caesar said to Cleopatra, “Your asp is glass!”
:^)
"Before the Romans get here, would your highness like something to eat?" "Nope, but I will have a bite. You'll have one too."
Cometh hither with my slither
I prefer mine fullium, especially with single-malt.
By “large” I mean LARGE.
Some thing like 10’x15’x3’!!!
It is now part of the floor in one of the chambers...
Imagine what it takes to melt that much silica!
The ones who did the most damage were the Muslims.
Ancient culture was making a comeback in the 7th century when the Muslim barbarians destroyed most of Mediterranean agriculture, stopped the trade in papyrus, thereby gradually eliminating literacy and most written records, and turned the Mediterranean into a lake of pirates.
Many prosperous cities, mentioned in the Bible, were depopulated and turned into small villages by the effects of the Muslim conquest.
I see the problem right there.
There's no shortage of wholenium.
Along the way North, some of the zircon minerals contained in the sands drop out..
Well then, no dipolma for you!
Probably going to make a big telescope mirror?
9 ton is a fair amount of glass.
somehow connected?
“Cleopatra sent to Caesar a letter which she had written and sealed; and, putting everybody out of the monument but her two women, she shut the doors. Caesar, opening her letter, and finding pathetic prayers and entreaties that she might be buried in the same tomb with Antony, soon guessed what was doing. At first he was going himself in all haste, but, changing his mind, he sent others to see. The thing had been quickly done. The messengers came at full speed, and found the guards apprehensive of nothing; but on opening the doors, they saw her stone-dead, lying upon a bed of gold, set out in all her royal ornaments. Iras, one of her women, lay dying at her feet, and Charmion, just ready to fall, scarce able to hold up her head, was adjusting her mistress’s diadem. And when one that came in said angrily, ‘Was this well done of your lady, Charmion?’ ‘Extremely well,’ she answered, ‘and as became the descendant of so many kings’; and as she said this, she fell down dead by the bedside.”
Plutarch, Life of Antony (LXXXV.2-3, Dryden trans.)
https://penelope.uchicago.edu/~grout/encyclopaedia_romana/miscellanea/cleopatra/rixens.html
Oooh, nice!
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