StartseiteObject TypesGlass

Glass

Doliche lies at the crossroads of different cultural influences, which are reflected in the spectrum of glass finds. While in pre-Roman times only a Mediterranean and generally Eastern tradition can be recognised, impulses from the West were added in Roman times. From the 3rd century onwards, a Sasanian influence was added. Cut glass and blue, engraved glass are important here. Finally, in the Middle Ages, the difference between Byzantine glass from the Roman tradition and Islamic glass can be clearly seen in the different corrosion of the glass surfaces, whereby a Persian influence was also incorporated through imports from Persia.

With regard to the finds from Keber Tepe, initial results confirm the tendencies of the glass finds from Dülük Baba Tepesi; however, so far there is no evidence of clearly pre-Roman glass. Only one ribbed bowl fragment of amber-yellow colour could date from the Hellenistic period.

The early Roman vessels from Keber Tepe include ribbed bowl fragments made of so-called natural-coloured blue-green glass. The smaller ones with a diameter of 10 to 14 cm are still clearly in the Hellenistic tradition. The fragment of a moulded mosaic glass bowl is also early Roman; it thus belongs to the first generation of Roman moulded vessels.

As on the Dülük Baba Tepesi, there is also a so-called delicate ribbed bowl from the Keber Tepesi, but here it is made of colourless glass without a marbled thread. The piece from Keber Tepe is thus in the eastern tradition. An angular jug base of type Is 50 with a base mark indicates a western influence in glass processing.

In general, rim fragments of beaker-shaped vessels are most common among the vessel glass finds of the 2nd/3rd century. They usually have a rounded rim. Remains of oval plates belong to moulded vessels of this period (2nd generation). Such plates have so far been found quite rarely in the entire Roman Empire with around 30 pieces – however, there is probably a research gap here as they are not easily recognised.

In general, a large number of vessels with chipped rims can be found from Late Antiquity. These include spherical forms, which may still belong to the late 3rd century. For the 4th century, conical, somewhat thicker-walled forms are more typical and are also well represented. Many are likely to have been used as lamps. Among the late antique-early Byzantine jars, the goblets with a raised foot of the Ising 111 type represent the largest group, which either served as drinking vessels or as lamps.

Created under Persian influence or imported from Persia is a group of thick-walled medieval vessels, presumably beakers, which have a bevelled rim and often further ground grooves on the body. They have been found almost exclusively during inspections. The glass colour is uniformly very pale greenish or colourless with a characteristic greyish tinge that sometimes turns pale purple. This indicates the use of manganese in the production of raw glass and is typical of glass from the 4th century and later. The greyish tinge with a purple tinge is apparently caused by UV radiation – as the finds come from the surface, they were exposed to sunlight for a long time, which explains this phenomenon. This also explains the rare occurrence or absence of corresponding fragments from the excavations of both Dülük Baba Tepesi and Keber Tepe. However, there are some fragments of pure greenish or colourless colouring without a grey tinge, which undoubtedly belong to this group.

Window glass was found in quite large pieces and in large numbers, but it can be assumed that most of it was melted down again; this can be seen from the low composition rate. There is evidence of both Roman drawn and later blown window glass. The pale yellow late glass comes almost exclusively from the area around the church. Late vessel forms from the 4th to 7th centuries, such as sprinklers – unguentaria with narrowed necks – and goblets of the Isings 111 type often consist of the same glass as the window panes.

Sowohl aus den Begehungen als auch aus den Grabungen stammen zahlreiche Armreiffragmenteaus dickwandigem massivem Glas. Sie bestehen meist aus dunkelgrünem oder dunkelviolettem, opak-schwarz erscheinenden Glas, seltener auch aus grünlichem oder farblosem Glas. Neben den am häufigsten vorkommenden unverzierten Armreifen mit D-förmigem oder dreieckigem Querschnitt, gibt es gerippte und tordierte Stücke. Sie belegen eine intensive Aktivitätsphase im 4. bis 7. Jahrhundert auf dem Keber Tepe insbesondere im Bereich des Bades, die mit der Räumung und Neunutzung des Geländes zusammenhängen könnten.

Expert & Author

Dr. Constanze Höpken
Find Processing: Glass & Metal
Leibniz-Zentrum für Archäologie