glass

Introduction

Experiments on glass bead techniques used in antiquity have produced many insights into how early medieval beadmakers made their beads (Heaser, 2018). The studies mainly focused on early medieval beads found in cemeteries of the fifth and sixth centuries AD in England. Replica tools and a simple modern blow torch were used to simulate the conditions of the ancient beadmakers (See Appendix 1).

Experiment Background

Unfortunately, no intact furnaces survive. Only the base plates for these potential furnaces and an additional scattering of sherds exist in the archaeological record. Thus, the shape of the body, lid, and chimneys must be inferred and then tested through experimental bead production.

Part of the reorganisation of the archaeological open-air area at Asparn are plans for a remaking of the Iron Age workshop area. The construction of an Iron Age smithy and a glass production furnace are also being planned. As is widely known ‘glass can be made out of quartz sand, potash and lime’. But is it as easy as that? It is therefore legitimate to discuss here the experimental efforts involved in its production.