The last natron glass production in middle Egypt in the 8th to 9th century CE
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Despite the fact that Egypt was a major producer of glass during the first millennium CE, the primary production locations of most Egyptian glass groups remain unknown. Identification of Egyptian glass is generally based on the assumption that its chemical composition differs from Levantine glass, which is relatively well known thanks to numerous archaeological remains. No production site in Egypt has been investigated to the same extent with regard to the properties of the glass. Raw glass chunks and furnace debris, as well as several finished objects collected at el-Ashmunein in Middle Egypt at the end of the 19th century and preserved in the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Limoges (France), were selected for analysis by LA-ICP-MS to address the perennial question of the primary production location of the last natron type glass of the ancient world. The analytical results provide evidence that Egypt 2 glass originated in el-Ashmunein, and contains manganese at varying concentrations that was added during primary production for the purpose of decolourisation. Comparison with published data of well-dated Egyptian glass weights further reveals a chronological evolution of the compositional properties of Egypt 2 glass with a decline in soda contents over time. Imported material in the form of plant-ash glass from Mesopotamia is evidence of the delayed introduction of plant ash based glass recipes to Egypt. Our study demonstrates that historical glass collections can be an important source of information to fill gaps in our knowledge of the history of glassmaking.
Authors: Nadine Schibille, Marie-Dominique Nenna
Language: English
Subfield: Archeology
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $4,040
OpenAlex ID: W7135245555