. ARCHAEOLOGY INTERNATIONAL

HildObronze foundries of antiquity,1 Glass in ancient Egypt appears to have been used as a substitute military workshops supplying and main­ for precious stones that were not available in the country. Here taining the pharaoh's chariotry including the process of glass manufacture is traced through the examina­ stables for hundreds of horses, and the only known production site for glass in tion of the fr agmentaryremains of ceramic reaction vessels and Bronze Age Egypt and Mesopotamia. The crucibles used in the production of small glass ingots. excavations date back to the 1980s, but only in the past couple of years have we been able to identify the glassmaking evi­ n archaeological terms, glass is a these precious materials, and ancient Egypt dence, although much of it had been exca­ relatively young material that was is no exception to this rule. It was famous vated many years previously. Why this invented much later than pottery or for its riches in gold, but had no silver ores; delay? Because we didn't know how to rec­ Imetals; only from the beginning of it produced amethyst, carnelian and tur­ ognize glassmaking: there being no prece­ the Late Bronze Age onwards do we quoise, but not lapis lazuli, amber or ob­ dent or template to follow when looking have good evidence for its intentional and sidian. Should the country's rulers there­ for Bronze Age glassmaking, and the evi­ routine production. Glassmaking seems to fore forgo their enjoyment of these other dence is surprisingly unspectacular and have emerged in Mesopotamia at about materials? There are several ways to deal quite different from the large-scale glass­ 1550, and it reached Egypt shortly after­ with shortages of specific luxury materi­ making remains of the end of the Roman wards. However, the use of glass differs als. One can simply not use those not avail­ period known from elsewhere in the strongly from what we know today as a able locally; after all, they are luxury items, Levant. Furthermore, most of the materials mass-produced, cheap and usually colour­ not necessities. One can obtain them from involved do not survive well in the wet and less material for windows, drinking ves­ those who have them, by peaceful ex­ basic soils of the delta (Fig. 2). Only the sels and many more items of daily use. change, as tribute or booty, although goods combination of systematic long-term exca­ Egyptian glass objects are typically small, to offer in return may be limited, and vation, meticulous finds recording and colourful and highly decorative, reserved changing political circumstances may be painstaking investigation of unusual mate­ for the highest levels of society: the phar­ disruptive. Or one can make the desired rials final! y enabled us to piece together aoh, his family and the highest priests and material, or materials that look quite like the evidence. 2 bureaucrats. Much of it is in the form of them. It is this latter option that interests jewellery or small containers with very us here, for glass in ancient Egypt is just The material narrow openings. Typically, they have a such a material: artificially made precious This is what we found: fragments of reac­ blue body inlaid with lines of white, stones, providing qualities and quantities tion vessels and crucibles, and severely yellow, dark blue, black or amber. Beads of material that is otherwise difficult to corroded pieces of glass. The reaction ves­ are in one or more colours and were often obtain. sels are identical to standard Egyptian beer combined with other materials to form jars and egg-shape storage jars (Figs 3, 4), complex necklaces or decorations (Fig. 1 ). Fieldwork in Egypt each holding a few litres; but here, they Before the invention of glass, such luxury During the past six years, the Institute of were used to make glass from its raw mate­ items were carved from precious stones Archaeology has been involved in research rials, plant ash and crushed quartz. This such as turquoise, lapis lazuli, amethyst, at Qantir, the location of the site of ancient initial glassmaking took place at relatively carnelian, obsidian and amber, and inlaid Piramesses, in the eastern Nile Delta. The low temperatures, in the range of 900- in gold and silver. site is better known as the city of the Exo­ 9500C, and resulted in an imperfect semi­ No single country has mines yielding all dus, the new capital setup in about 1280 by finished glass. Remains of the crushed Ramesses the Great in Lower Egypt. Here, quartz embedded in semi-finished glass Dr Edgar Pusch (the Pelizaeus Museum, are still attached to the interior surfaces of

Figure 1 A necklace made fr om glass, fa ience and Egyp tian blue. Figure 2 Th e shallow water table at Qantir. 40 J ARCHAEOLOGY INTERNATIONAL

corroded by the acidic contents, and the contents frombeing spoiled by the corrod­ ing iron. In our case, the parting layer pro­ tects the ceramic of the vessels from being attacked by the aggressive plant ash, while preventing the semi-finished glass from discolouration by the iron oxides present in the ceramic. The second main group of finds related to glassmaking are fragmentsof cylindrical crucibles (Fig. 6). Crucibles are purpose­ made vessels used to melt metal or glass, typically at temperatures of 1000-11 00°C. In metallurgy, crucibles are often used to cast the molten metal into moulds to give Figure 5 Semi-finished glass adhering to it a desired shape. Glass, though, is too stiff a fragment of a reaction vessel. to be cast, even at the temperatures men­ tioned, and is possibly best described as ancient Egypt it was used extremely rarely, resembling in consistency chewing gum or and one might interpret its strong presence toffee. Hence, these crucibles doubled up here as indicating a two-step process in as moulds, with the molten glass cooling which the semi-finished glass was first and solidifying inside them, producing melted at a higher temperature to achieve Figure 3 The bottom fragm ent of a reac­ circular discs or cakes. At this stage, metal a good-quality base glass, before the color­ tion vessel with remains of parting layer oxides were added to give the glass the ant was finally added in a second melting. and semi-finished glass on the inside. desired colour; in the case ofPiramesses, a If this is indeed the case, then the crucibles few per cent by weight of copper oxide from Qantir would have served almost some of the vessel fragments (Fig. 5), sep­ made it a bright red. To retrieve the glass exclusively to produce glass ingots of a arated from theceramic itself by a special cakes, the crucibles were broken; often, single colour - red. Even if we assume that lining made from lime to protect the vessel small bits of glass remained stuck onto the only half of the crucibles actually repre­ from reacting with its contents. This bar­ crucible fragments,mostly in places where sent a finished glass ingot, and the other rier or parting layer acts very much like the the lime barrier had not been thick enough half are attributable to the intermediate tin coating inside a modern tin can, which to function properly. The glass cakes or refining of the base glass, we still have evi­ protects both the iron of the can frombeing ingots were the final product of the glass­ dence here for massive production of glass. maker, and were then passed on to glass The 250 individual crucibles alone that studios, where artisans remelted and have been reconstructed equal more than worked them into vases, beads and inlays. 120 glass ingots, and even more will have These crucibles are much more highly been made where we have not excavated fired than the reaction vessels, as can be the remains. seen from their darker colour and harder This emphasis on red glass contrasts fabric. This resulted in much better pres­ strongly with the colour scheme of glass ervation ofthe fragments, and we were able objects apparent in almost every museum to reconstruct at least 250 individual cru­ with Egyptian objects, where the colours cibles, typically with an inner diameter of are overwhelmingly dark and light blue, 12-18 cm and a height of probably about representing lapis lazuli and turquoise, the 15 cm. Such crucibles had already been former being a highly prized exotic stone, excavated more than a hundred years ago and the latter deeply imbued with reli­ by Sir Flinders Petrie at the site of Tell gious meaning and symbolism related to el-Amarna in Middle Egypt, and tentatively fertility and the goddess Hathor. linked by him to the glass and faience fac­ tories there. However, their exact function within the glassmaking process remained enigmatic until the Qantir finds were first published by us in 1997.3 A remarkable feature of the glass cruci­ bles fromQantir is the colour of the glass associated with them. In the majority of cases there is not enough glass left, or it is too corroded to identify its original colour; however, in about 50 crucibles we see remains of bright red glass, compared to only a few with blue glass, and a single one with amethyst glass. Intriguingly, about 40 crucibles show remains of uncoloured or semi-finished glass, although this is some­ times difficult to distinguish fromstrongly corroded glass. This concentration on just two colours, Figure 6 A reconstructed crucible from bright red and colourless, is remarkable in Qantir. Figure 4 A typical egg-shape storage ves­ itself, as it indicates a high degree of spe­ sel of the type also used as a reaction vessel cialization of this workshop complex. Col­ for glassmaking. ourless glass is very common today, but in

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slightly different crucibles. The presence and adjustment to local situations and of such ingots on board a ship full with materials. However, with the basic picture other luxury items also indicates that it sketched out, we now have a first draft was glass ingots rather than finished glass fromwhich to refine the technical recon­ objects that were exchanged between dif­ struction, and to improve our understand­ ferent cultures, although at present we can ing of the organization and practicalities of only speculate as to the direction of this this fascinating industry. exchange. Notes What is new? 1. E. Pusch, "Metallverarbeitende Werkstiit­ In summary, research based on the mate­ ten der fruhen Ramessidenzeit in Qantir­ A rial from Qantir/Piramesses over the past Piramesse-Nord", gyp ten und Levante l, ten years or so offers fascinating new in­ 75-113, 1990; and E. Pusch, "Piramesse", in The Oxford encyclopedia of ancient sights into how one of the most beautiful Egypt (vol. 3), D. Redford (ed.), 48-50 materials of the Late Bronze Age was made (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991). and traded. For the first time in over a hun­ 2. Th. Rehren & E. Pusch, "Late Bronze Age dred years we can detail the glassmaking Egyptian glass production at Qantir/ Figure 7 A glass ingot (approx. 10cm practice during the height of Egyptian Piramesses", Science 308, 1756-59, 2005. thick) excavated by M. Hamza in Qantir in power in the Late Bronze Age. A carefully 3. Th. Rehren, "Ramesside glass-colouring 1928. controlled two-step process, operating first crucibles", Archaeometry 39, 355-68, at about 900°C and then at about 1050°C, 1997; and Th. Rehren & E. Pusch "New prepared the colourless base glass to which Kingdom glass-melting crucibles from The products Qantir/Piramesses", Journalof Egyp tian What about the red glass produced in such colorants were finally added to produce Archaeology 83, 127-4 1, pi. xviii, 1997. quantities at ancient Piramesses? In our glass cakes or ingots weighing 1.5-3.0kg 4. Chapter 5, "Glass, fr it and faience", in excavation, only small and severely cor­ each. There are strong signs that different Excavations at Tell Brak (vol. 1), D. Oates, roded fragments of glass ingots have been glass-production workshops were operat­ J. Oates, H. MacDonald (Cambridge: found, apart froma series of beads forming ing across Egypt and Mesopotamia, most of McDonald Institute for Archaeological part of three different necklaces. However, which were probably capable of producing Research, 1998). Egyptian archaeologist Mahmout Hamza, light-blue glass using copper or bronze as 5. C. Pulak, "Das Schiffswrack von Ulu­ excavating at Qantir in 1928, not only iden­ the main colorant. However, they also burun", in Dos Schiff von Uluburun, Yalcin, C. Pulak,R. Slotta (eds), 55-102 tified the site as a major faience factory, but appear to have specialized in the produc­ D. (Bochum: Ausstellungskatalog Deutsches also found a complete glass ingot, which is tion of other particular colours, such as red Bergbau-Museum, 2005). now on display in the Egyptian Museum in in Piramesses, and elsewhere manganese Luxor (Fig. 7). This ingot is superficially purple, antimony white, lead-antimony corroded to green, but the original bright yellow or cobalt blue. These much rarer red colour is still visible in small patches colours required both access to exotic min­ where the corrosion is flaking off. With a erals and the knowledge of how to process height of about 11 cm and an average diam­ them into colorants; and both the access to eter of about 12 cm, it fits the typical Qantir these minerals and the associated knowl­ crucible perfectly, and even though we do edge may have been well guarded work­ not have any details of its discovery or con­ shop secrets. We also see evidence for a text, one may reasonably assume that it long-distance network through which the represents a typical product of the glass­ monochrome ingots were traded between making industry at ancient Piramesses. different regions, so that the artists in the Although this is the only complete glass various glass studios near the temples and ingot known from Egypt, it is by no means palaces of the rulers of the day had access the only glass ingot known from the Late to all the colours they needed to make their Bronze Age. A few near-complete blue beautiful multicoloured objects. glass ingots are known from several sites in Of course, further work will change and Egypt and Mesopotamia, such as Lisht and refine this picture; even within a conserv­ Tell Brak.4 However, by far the largest ative industry such as glassmaking, we number come from the wreck of a cargo would expect some technical development ship that sank in about 1310 off the south­ ern Turkish coast near Uluburun, and 10 red Qantir ingot�\ which had at least 175 glass ingots on 5 board. Many of these are poorly pre­ /" � 12/ ---...�"-, served, but enough survive to identify two eo-coloured·. different colours: dark blue coloured by ingots \ / cobalt, probably imitating lapis lazuli, and ' a lighter opaque copper blue imitating tur­ -� ingots quoise. These ingots are all of the same basic disc or cake shape, relating them to the cylindrical crucibles (Fig. 6); however, 10 15 20 the cobalt-blue ones are on average thicker Ingot diameter (cm) and have a somewhat larger diameter than the copper-blue ones (Fig. 8). This similar­ Figure 8 Comparison of ingot sizes ity in shape and difference in size between between the blue glass ingots from the ingots of the two colours is interesting, and Ul uburun shipwreck, fi ve of which are indicates that they originate from two coloured with copper (Cu-coloured) and different workshops that produced them twelve with cobalt (Go-coloured}, and the in the same overall tradition, but using red Qantir ingot.

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