BAR Internatinal Series 827 Archaeopress, Oxford, 2000.

First edition.

In-4, 184 pages

As new

This book investigates the technological processes involved in the
making of ancient vitreous materials concentrating on the site of
Amarna, in Middle Egypt. Amarna was the capital city of the 18th Dynasty
king, Akhenaten (1352-1336 BC). The manufacture of vitreous materials
in Dynastic Egypt reached its zenith in terms of artistic and technical
accomplishment in the 18th Dynasty. Amidst the debate over the source of
these technological advances, whether some of the vitreous materials
were imported or manufactured locally, the entire process of manufacture
is examined, from the selection of raw materials, preliminary
processing and eventual firing right through to the distribution of the
finished objects. Analysis of the finished objects and the waste
materials of the production sequence by scanning electron microscope and
other techniques forms the principal source of evidence, supported by
close examination of the archaeological context. The significance of the
different types and colours of glasses is examined and compared to the
material from tomb paintings and texts, which sheds light on the
relationship between Egpytian glass and Mesopotamian glasses. The
overall social and political climate of the city of Amarna and other New
Kingdom towns is also considered where this might help our
understanding of the conditions of craftsmen in vitreous materials or of
the overall control of the industry.