Glass-Making and the Sixth Legion at York

Abstract

It has long been accepted that the Roman soldier was as likely to be engaged in craft or building activities as he was in specifically military ones such as fighting or drill practice. Vegetius listed the specialists that could be expected in a legion. They included builders of various types, people who could make vehicles, armourers, and weaponsmiths. The soldiers in auxiliary units also needed similar skills as the lists dating to the beginning of the second century at Vindolanda make clear. These gave details of the numbers of men engaged in different activities, and noted builders, shoemakers, and men working at some type of kiln or furnace. The archaeological evidence shows that the range of craftsmen was a large one. Potting industries were set up when the local potters did not provide the suite of vessels the soldiers required. Metalsmiths turned their hands to enamelled vessels as well as utilitarian items with a more obviously military function such as harness-fittings and studs. This paper will explore another possible facet of military craftsmanship, that of the manufacture and working of glass which is suggested by the recovery of glass-melting pots and partially reacted glass batch material at 16–22 Coppergate, York.