Materials from the tomb of Tuthmosis III's three foreign wives are the starting point for studies exploring glassmaking in Egypt about 1800-1400 B.C.

The book describes current research into all aspects of craftwork in ancient Egypt.

The Silk Road is a main artery connecting Europe and Asia for political, economical, cultural and technical exchange in antiquity, and glass is one of the earliest artificial materials to be invented. Studying the origin and evolution of ancient glass along the Silk Road is thus significant for understanding the development and exchange of culture and technology between China and abroad.This book, for the first time, traces the origin, evolution and spreading of ancient Chinese glass technology. It collects a wealth of data contributed by Chinese and foreign experts regarding the history and background, visual characteristics and chemical compositions of the unearthed ancient glasses from along the Northern (Oasis) Silk Road, especially from the Xinjiang Province (known as the “Western Region” in ancient times). The book presents new results of the studies on ancient glasses along the Southern and Sea Silk Roads, and discusses the influence of the Silk Road on ancient Chinese glass technology and art.

Worldwide research on ancient glass began in the early 20th century. A consensus has been reached in the community of Archaeology that the first manmade or synthetic glasses, based on archaeological findings, originated in the Middle East during the 5000-3000's BC. By contrast, the manufacturing technology of pottery and ceramics were well developed in ancient China. The earliest pottery and ceramics dates back to the Shang Dynasty - the Zhou Dynasty (1700 BC-770 BC), while the earliest ancient glass artifacts unearthed in China dates back to the Western Han Dynasty. Utilizing the state-of-the art analytical and spectroscopic methods, the recent findings demonstrate that China had already developed its own glassmaking technology at latest since 200 BC. There are two schools of viewpoint on the origin of ancient Chinese glass. The more common one believes that ancient Chinese glass originated from the import of glassmaking technology from the West as a result of Sino-West trade exchanges in the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC-25 AD). The other scientifically demonstrates that homemade ancient Chinese glass with unique domestic formula containing both PbO and BaO were made as early as in the Pre-Qin Period or even the Warring States Period (770 BC-221 BC), known as Yousha or Faience.This English version of the previously published Chinese book entitled Development History of Ancient Chinese Glass Technology is for universities and research institutes where various research and educational activities of ancient glass and history are conducted. With 18 chapters, the scope of this book covers very detailed information on scientifically based findings of ancient Chinese glass development and imports and influence of foreign glass products as well as influence of the foreign glass manufacturing processes through the trade exchanges along the Silk Road(s).

Recent research has demonstrated that, in the Roman, Late Antique, Early Islamic and Medieval worlds, glass was traded over long distances, from the Eastern Mediterranean, mainly Egypt and Israel, to Northern Africa, the Western Mediterranean and Northern Europe. Things that Travelled, a collaboration between the UCL Early Glass Technology Research Network, the Association for the History of Glass and the British Museum, aims to build on this knowledge. Covering all aspects of glass production, technology, distribution and trade in Roman, Byzantine and Early Medieval/Early Islamic times, including studies from Britain, Egypt, Cyprus, Italy and many others, the volume combines the strengths of the sciences and cultural studies to offer a new approach to research on ancient glass. By bringing together such a varied mix of contributors, specialising in a range of geographical areas and chronological time frames, this volume also offers a valuable contribution to broader discussions on glass within political, economic, cultural and historical arenas.

"This volume is the fourth and final volume resulting from a focused programme of research and intensive group discussion of a wide range of topics related to the archaeological (and to a lesser extent, historical and anthropological/ethnographic) analysis of ancient societies in and around the Sahara, from the first millennium BC to the mid-second millennium AD. While the focus of the present volume is technology, there will inevitably be discussion of cross-overs and contrasts with the main conclusions from earlier volumes in the series. As explained in the Preface above, the Trans-SAHARA project evolved out of a long-term programme of fieldwork on an ancient people of the Libyan Sahara. Just as they occupied a significant nodal location in the Sahara, the Garamantes are at the centre of this volume, but the scope of debate here extends way beyond the history of a single group. Connections and barriers within the Trans-Saharan region (and the interrelationship between these two aspects) form one focus. In this introduction we present an overview of crucial themes and considerations which cross-cut all or many of the contributions."--

Glass of the Roman World illustrates the arrival of new cultural systems, mechanisms of trade and an expanded economic base in the early 1st millennium AD which, in combination, allowed the further development of the existing glass industry. Glass became something which encompassed more than simply a novel and highly decorative material. Glass production grew and its consumption increased until it was assimilated into all levels of society, used for display and luxury items but equally for utilitarian containers, windows and even tools. These 18 papers by renowned international scholars include studies of glass from Europe and the Near East. The authors write on a variety of topics where their work is at the forefront of new approaches to the subject. They both extend and consolidate aspects of our understanding of how glass was produced, traded and used throughout the Empire and the wider world drawing on chronology, typology, patterns of distribution, and other methodologies, including the incorporation of new scientific methods. Though focusing on a single material the papers are firmly based in its archaeological context in the wider economy of the Roman world, and consider glass as part of a complex material culture controlled by the expansion and contraction of the Empire. The volume is presented in honor of Jenny Price, a foremost scholar of Roman glass.