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ALEXANDRIA
EGYPT
coveredwithathickcoatingofgreenish
glass.Athirdfurnace,unearthedinaudi-
toriumR,wasseverelydamagedbylater,
Islamicgraves.Thesestructurestestify
withoutanydoubttoglassmakingonthe
siteandtheyshednewlightontheglass
industryinAlexandriaduringtheLate
Roman/EarlyByzantineperiod.
Thecommonopinionaboutglassmaking
inAlexandriawasbasedprimarilyonliterary
sources3anduntilnowsupportedbysecon-
daryarchaeologicalevidence,suchasfrag-
mentsoffurnacestructureswithattached
glass,remainsofcrucibleswithglasslayers
adheringtotheinnersurface,drippings,
fragmentsofglassslagandfinallymany
piecesofingotsofvariouscolours.Theevi-
dencefortube-drawing,aswellaswasters
(distortedbodyfragmentsandwindowpanes,
semi-products,etc.)constitutedadditional
indicationsassociatedwithglassworking,
pointingdirectlytoalocalworkshop.
LAMPS
Vesselswithcracked-offrimsareundou-
btedlyoneofthecommonestglassfinds
fromlayersoftheLateRomanperiod.The
mostpopularform,attestedalsointheaudi-
toria,isasimpleconicallamporbeaker.
CONICALLAMPS
Conicallampsarerepresentedbyfragments
offlaringcracked-offrimsandstraightside
wallswhichtapertothedifferenttypesof
bases.Thethicknessofthefragmentsvaries,
sincethewallsarealwaysthinnerinthe
middlepartofthevessels[Fig.1:1].
Thischaracteristicshapehasalong
historyinthelamp-makingtradition,one,
thatwasextendedalsointotheEarly
Islamicperiod.4Suchvesselshavebeen
identifiedbothasbeakersandaslamps.
ThosefoundintheEasternMediterranean
mayhavebeenusedpredominantlyas
lamps.Mostoftheconicalvesselsexcavated
atKaranishadanoilydepositandsootin
thebase,whichindicatedsuchuse.They
mayhavestoodinsmallwoodentripodsor
weresuspendedfromtheceiling.Afew
piecesfromtheauditoriashowsignsof
horizontalfriction-wearbelowtherimand
ataboutthemidpointofthebody,
suggestingthatthevesselsweresuspended
inmetalrings.Westernexamplesare
generallythoughttobedrinkingvessels,as
arelatermedievalglassesofthisshape.
Conicallampsareidentifiedbytheir
distinctivebases.Themostcommontypeis
asolid,plainbase,triangularinsectionwith
nopontilmark,roundedatthebottom
[Fig.1:2-3].Theyarepresentintheexca-
vatedmaterialinsignificantnumbers.The
bestparallelsareprovidedbyexamplesfrom
Naqlun.5Bycontrast,onlythreepiecesof
thecharacteristiccoiledknobbasehave
beenfound[Fig.1:4-6].ApartfromKom
el-Dikka,findscanbecitedfromNaqlun,6
Tellel-Balamun7andTebtynis.8Less
3
JohnMoschus,PratumSpirituale77.
4
G.T.ScanlonandR.Pinder-Wilson,FustatGlassoftheEarlyIslamicperiod(London2001),54,Pl.25cand65,
Pl.32:i.Thelatteronehasaddeddecorationconsistingofafestooncaughtbypinchedlugs.
5
M.Mossakowska-Gaubert,"Questiond'éclairage:ermitageno.44àNaqlun(Fayyoum)",AnIsl34(2000),347,Fig.3,
type2.
6
Mossakowska,op.cit,335-357,Fig.4,Nos.18-21.
7
A.J.Spencer,ExcavationsatTellel-Balamun(London1996),18,Pl.87:11.
8
D.Foy,"SecteurNorddeTebtynis(Fayyoum).LeVerreByzantinetIslamique",AnIsl35(2001),446-447,Figs1:9.
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