Glass Production in the Early Byzantine Period (4th–7th Century) at Gadara (Umm Qais), Jordan, Area W, 2011 Season of Excavation

Abstract

Studies of ancient glass production in northern Jordan are rare. During the 2011 season of excavation at ancient Gadara (Umm Qais), a large number of fragmentary glass objects were found, along with a group of chunks and molten glass fragments. These finds may indicate the existence of a glass secondary workshop at the site during the Byzantine period (4th–7th centuries AD. This paper focuses on the glass objects and the chunks and molten glass fragments discovered at the site. An initial descriptive and comparative study of the objects is followed by a discussion of the glass production and workshops that are already known in the region. A sample of twenty-five diagnostic fragments dated between the 4th and the 7th centuries AD was selected for study, of which nine were analysed chemically using the Atomic Absorption method. The results suggest that glass objects were locally produced at Gadara.