Londinium, Architecture and the CraftsLethaby, W. R. (William Richard)
History
Londinium, Architecture and the Crafts
Lethaby, W. R. (William Richard)
England -- Antiquities, Roman; London (England) -- Antiquities, Roman; Romans -- England -- London
_Glass._—Much broken glass is usually found on Roman sites, vessels,
window-panes, etc., and it was probably wrought, in many centres, from
imported material. Evidence of this has been found at Silchester and
elsewhere (see Mr. T. May’s _Warrington_). Some window glass was
described by Price as “plate polished on one side and ground on the
other”; this probably means that it was cast and that the rough side
came next the mould.
Conyers, describing the finds on the side of St. Paul’s in 1675, says:
“The labourers told me of some remains that were found up and down near
the place of the other pot-kilns, and these had a funnel to convey the
smoke, which might serve for glass furnaces. For though not any pots
with glass in them whole in the furnaces were there found, yet broken
crucibles, or tests for molting of glasses, together with boltered
glasses such as are to be seen remaining at glass-houses amongst the
broken glass, which were glasses spoilt in the making, were there found,
but not plenty, and especially coloured and prepared for jewel-like
ornament, but mostly such as for cruets or glasses with a lip to drop
withal of a greenish light blue colour. Of any sort of glass there was
but little; so that the glasswork might be scarce, for I think a hundred
times more of pots was found to one of glass....
“Now doth appear the Romans had excellent mechanics, pot makers,
stampers of coins, and excellent workers in glass, for amongst those
Roman pots were found glass beads as big as could be put on your little
finger, and these hollow within and of blue glass wrought or enamelled
with yellow glass, and blue beads of the colour of a Turkoise stone.
Divided were these beads with threads as big as pack thread. Amongst the
rest, great pins made of bone or ivory, etc., heads of many like the
great brass-pins, and others vermicular or screw-head, others like the
Pope’s triple crown; of these fell to my share as many as a pint-pot
would hold.... Taken up a _speculum_ of metal to show the face, of fine
bell-metal. There were also found brass embossments with glass set
instead of better jewels, which I keep, and glass drops that were loose,
and the bottom of an old-fashioned crucible which had glass melted in
it, and there were also pieces of necks of glass cruets to pour out by.”
Much of the large number of plainer glass vessels in our museums was
doubtless made in the London glass works from imported metal, and
probably some ornamental pieces were also manufactured. Thomas Wright
thought that glass itself was made in Roman days on the coast near
Brighton where “pebbles of glass” have been found; but from
comparatively late records of glass making about Rye, etc., the Roman
origin of the “pebbles” seems unlikely.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account