Material · glass
Glass
Europe — Mediterranean, Europe — Western & Central, Near East & Mesopotamia, Egypt & Nile Valley
Glass was made in Mesopotamia and Egypt from about 1,500 BCE as core-formed vessels and beads, and after the invention of blowing around 50 BCE became a mass product of the Roman empire in vessels, windows and jewellery. Roman, Islamic and Sasanian glass are traded categories. Weathered glass develops iridescence.
| Kind | glass |
|---|---|
| Regions | Europe — Mediterranean, Europe — Western & Central, Near East & Mesopotamia, Egypt & Nile Valley |
Sources
Raw glass was made in Egypt and the Levant from Nile or Belus sand and natron, then shipped as chunks to secondary workshops across the Roman world. Isotope analysis of the sand can now separate Egyptian from Levantine raw glass.
Identification
Ancient soda-lime glass is greenish, bluish or colourless, with bubbles, pontil marks and weathering that flakes in iridescent layers; core-formed vessels show trailed decoration on a sandy interior. Modern glass is clear and bubble-free. Iridescence can be faked chemically.
Substitutes and fakes
Modern blown reproductions from Egypt, Syria and Turkey with artificial iridescence are common, and genuine vessels are often illicit grave finds. Layered weathering and provenance are the checks.
Elsewhere
- Wikidata: Q11469
- Wikipedia: glass
Cite this article
Stratum Study. "Glass" (Material). Stratum Study pack 2026.09, as of 2026-09-21. https://stratum.black/study/materials/glass. Accessed 2026-09-21.
@misc{stratum-glass,
title = {Glass},
author = {{Stratum Study}},
howpublished = {\url{https://stratum.black/study/materials/glass}},
year = {2026},
note = {Material article, Stratum Study pack 2026.09, as of 2026-09-21; sources: stratum, wikidata. Accessed 2026-09-21.}
} Citations carry the pack version and the article's as-of date so they resolve to the same text later. The facts themselves belong to the sources listed below; cite those for the science.