Welcome to the Street Prophets Coffee Hour cleverly hidden at the intersection of religion, art, science, food, and politics. This is an open thread where we can share our thoughts and comments about the day. Let’s start today by going back in time to the ancient Roman city of Pompeii. While wandering through the ruins of this ancient city, we are going to pause to look at some glass artifacts.
The Roman Empire, which reached its peak in the second century CE, stretched from Britain to Arabia and surrounded the Mediterranean. Among the many items which were traded within the empire were small glass bottles and other glass containers. Glass vessels were not only traded throughout the Roman Empire, but they were also luxury items in wealthier Roman households.
In his essay on Roman Glass in The Oxford Companion to Archaeology, David Whitehouse reports:
“The Romans made a greater variety of glass than any other ancient civilization. Glassblowing was discovered in the Roman Empire, and this led to the production of inexpensive objects for daily use.”
Glassblowing was invented in the first century BCE, probably in Syria. Within the Roman Empire, there were two important areas of glass production: Syria on the eastern Mediterranean and Iberia on the western Mediterranean.
With regard to the glassblowing technique, David Whitehouse reports:
“The worker gathers molten glass on the end of a blowpipe, then inflates the gather and shapes it by swinging, rolling on a flat surface, and manipulation with tools.”
The use of molds enabled the glassblower to produce decorated glass vessels as easily as plain ones.
Shown below are some of the glass items from Pompeii. The Oregon Museum of Science and Technology (OMSI) in Portland had a special exhibit on Pompeii which included more than 200 items on loan from the Naples National Archaeological Museum.
Shown above is a glass cup from the first century CE. This cup was mass produced using a mold.
Shown above is a glass tumbler from the first century BCE. This container held sauces that accompanied the different courses of a Roman dinner.
Shown above is a glass rhyton, a horn-shaped vessel for drinking wine. This was made in the first century CE.
Shown above is a ribbed glass cup from the first century CE.
Shown above are some glass bottles from the first century CE.
Open Thread
This is an open-thread—all topics are welcome.
