UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI Date:___________________ I, _________________________________________________________, hereby submit this work as part of the requirements for the degree of: in: It is entitled: This work and its defense approved by: Chair: _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ Evidence for Glass Production from the Yasmina Necropolis at Carthage A thesis submitted to the Division of Research and Advanced Studies of the University of Cincinnati in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS in the Department of Classics of the College of Arts and Sciences 2006 by Allison E. Sterrett-Krause B.A., Randolph-Macon Woman’s College, 2003 Committee Chair: C. Brian Rose Committee Members: Barbara Burrell, Janet Duncan Jones, Naomi J. Norman ABSTRACT This thesis seeks to discover whether the glass assemblage excavated from the Yasmina Necropolis at Carthage contains evidence of glass-working. A discussion of the history of Carthage, the location of craft-working areas within the layout of the city, and the site history of the Yasmina Necropolis provide background evidence to contextualize the excavated glass fragments. A survey of ancient epigraphic, literary, and iconographic sources examines in detail the surviving non-archaeological evidence for glass-working in antiquity. A short survey of archaeological evidence provides comparanda for the Yasmina Necropolis glass assemblage. Finally, a detailed discussion of some fragments of the assemblage points out vessels that may have originally been deposited in graves at the cemetery. The remainder of the glass was probably found in secondary contexts. The glass assemblage includes about 27 fragments that probably relate to the production of glass in Carthage, although the production site has not yet been located. © Copyright Allison E. Sterrett-Krause 2006 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like gratefully to acknowledge the assistance of many people who helped me to begin and complete this Master’s thesis. My advisors, Dr. C. Brian Rose (now of the University of Pennsylvania) and Dr. Barbara Burrell of the University of Cincinnati, are to be thanked for their enthusiasm, their comments, and their pep talks. Dr. Janet Jones, of Bucknell University, first proposed this topic to me, and has offered many helpful comments on the chapters on glass forms and production. Dr. Naomi Norman, of the University of Georgia, graciously allowed me to publish the glass from the Yasmina Necropolis, and generously offered me access to unpublished reports. She also gave many useful comments and corrections on the sections on Carthage and the Yasmina Necropolis. I owe all four readers a tremendous debt of gratitude for their willingness to drop everything and assist me, even at the last minute. Any errors that remain are, of course, my own. Others who have provided valuable assistance in the production of this thesis are Anne Feltovich, the graduate students in “The Wood Side Cheering Section,” and John Wallrodt, who provided instruction in database management and the creation of digital images. I must also acknowledge the support of my parents in this endeavor, for they have been incredibly patient and encouraging. Finally, I thank my husband, Joseph Krause, who has even given up weekends to help me create plates and proofread, because he has put up with a lot as I have written this thesis. 1 CONTENTS CONTENTS..............................................................................................................................1 ILLUSTRATIONS.....................................................................................................................3 FIGURES ..................................................................................................................................3 PLATES....................................................................................................................................3 INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................4 CHAPTER 1. CARTHAGE AND THE YASMINA NECROPOLIS ..................................11 A BRIEF HISTORY OF CARTHAGE ..........................................................................................11 URBANISM AND INDUSTRIAL ACTIVITY IN THE MAKE-UP OF CARTHAGE ............................18 Punic period activity areas ................................................................................................18 Roman and Byzantine period activity areas.......................................................................20 THE YASMINA NECROPOLIS AT CARTHAGE AND ITS GLASS ASSEMBLAGE ...........................22 CHAPTER 2. GLASS AND GLASS-WORKING IN LITERATURE AND EPIGRAPHY, ART, AND THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL RECORD..............................................................30 GLASS PRODUCTION IN WRITTEN SOURCES..........................................................................30 Epigraphic evidence...........................................................................................................30 Literary evidence...............................................................................................................35 ICONOGRAPHIC DEPICTIONS OF GLASS-WORKING...............................................................39 GLASS PRODUCTION IN THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL RECORD ....................................................40 Glass Manufacture and Glass-Working.............................................................................41 Elements of Glass-Working Visible in the Archaeological Record ......................................44 Excavated Evidence from Glass Factories and Workshop Sites ..........................................47 CHAPTER 3. THE GLASS FROM THE YASMINA NECROPOLIS ..................................61 GLASS FROM PRIMARY DEPOSITION CONTEXTS ....................................................................62 OVERALL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE YASMINA NECROPOLIS GLASS ASSEMBLAGE ..............64 CHARACTERISTIC FORMS, POSSIBLY INDICATING AN ATELIER .............................................68 DATING THE YASMINA GLASS ASSEMBLAGE ........................................................................70 EVIDENCE OF GLASS PRODUCTION .......................................................................................71 CONCLUSIONS.....................................................................................................................75 APPENDIX A. CATALOGUE OF THE YASMINA NECROPOLIS GLASS ASSEMBLAGE .......................................................................................................................79 INTRODUCTION.....................................................................................................................79 DISHES, PLATES, AND LARGE BOWLS (PL. 1-3) .....................................................................80 BEAKERS, CUPS, AND SMALL BOWLS (PL. 4-7)......................................................................82 LAMPS (PL. 7)........................................................................................................................89 FLASKS AND BOTTLES (PL. 8-10) ...........................................................................................90 UNIDENTIFIED RIMS (PL. 11).................................................................................................96 UNIDENTIFIED BASES (PL. 12-15)..........................................................................................98 GLASS JEWELRY, OBJECTS, AND UNCLASSIFIED DECORATED BODY FRAGMENTS (PL. 16) ..108 MISFORMED FRAGMENTS, WASTE GLASS, RAW GLASS, AND UNIDENTIFIED MATERIAL (PL. 17-18) .................................................................................................................................110 2 PLATES.................................................................................................................................113 APPENDIX B. GLOSSARY OF GLASS-WORKING TERMS ..........................................131 BIBLIOGRAPHY ..................................................................................................................132 3 ILLUSTRATIONS Figures Fig. 1. Carthage and Rome in the Mediterranean World....................................................11 Fig. 2. Roman Carthage, urban grid and public buildings. (Hurst 1994, 4, fig. 1.1.)........19 Fig. 3. The southwestern area of Carthage. The Circus, in the center, and the Yasmina Necropolis, lower left, are marked in yellow. (Courtesy of N. Norman.)............22 Fig. 4. State Plan of the Yasmina Necropolis. (Courtesy of N. Norman.).........................24 Fig. 5. The glass-blowers lamp, Split Archaeological Museum, Fc 1094. (Stern 1999, 447, fig. 7.) ...........................................................................................................................39 Plates Plate 1. Dishes, Plates, Large Bowls. Scale 1:2…………………………………………… 113 Plate 2. Dishes, Plates, Large Bowls. Scale 1:2.……………………………………...…… 114 Plate 3. Dishes, Plates, Large Bowls. Scale 1:2..……………………………………...……115 Plate 4. Beakers and Small Bowls. Scale 1:2……………………………………………….116 Plate 5. Beakers and Small Bowls. Scale 1:2..……………………………………………...117 Plate 6. Beakers and Small Bowls. Scale 1:2.………………………………………………118 Plate 7. Beakers and Small Bowls; Lamps. Scale 1:2.……………………………………..119 Plate 8. Flasks and Bottles. Scale