A Review of Mid-Second Millennium B.C. Egyptian Glass Technology at Tell El-Amarna
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A REVIEW OF MID-SECOND MILLENNIUM B.C. EGYPTIAN GLASS TECHNOLOGY AT TELL EL-AMARNA PAMELA VANDIVER-, CHARLES SWANN'- AND DAVID CRANMER-*0 *CAL, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20360 **Bartol Research Inst., Univ. of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716 **'Ceramics Division, N.I.S.T., Gaithersburg, MD 20899 INTRODUCTION In 1891 and 1892 Sir Flinders Petrie excavated glass in various stages of processing from the palace dumps at the fourteenth century B.C. site of Tell el-Amarna, a city built by artisans practicing the highest quality possible in their crafts in order to adorn the new capitol of Tutankhaman and thereby legitimize his rule(l). In order to learn more about the making and working of this glass, we analyzed samples in several stages of processing for composition, processing temperature, viscosity, extent of crystal growth and microscopic evidence of forming methods. Our findings accord with microscopic evidence from complete vessels, an unpublished manuscript on glass finds by the excavator, Sir Flinders Petrie(2) and previous work of the British glass technologist, W.E.S. Turner(3). The technology of melting glasses at Tell el-Amarna involved multiple step, batch processing of small amounts of material in both fritting and melting operations. However, at no time was the glass fluid enough to pour. The forming processes involved low temperature operations which utilized high viscosities similar to those used in forming warmed, but still solid, wax to make rods, strips and vessel walls in Ashanti lost wax casting(4). An examination of tool impressions in the glass artifacts and Ashanti manufacturing elements and vessels reinforces the similarity of tool kit and operations. Modern glasses typically are melted in the range of 10 Exponent 1.5-2.5 poise and represent values similar to olive or machine oil at room temperature. For comparison, glass at room temperature has a viscosity of about 10E25 poise. Modern glasses are formed in the viscous range from glycerol to cold honey, 10E4-7.6, where 10E7.6 is defined as the softening point (a glass will barely flow under its own weight within a given time). We will show that Egyptian glasses were formed at higher viscosities than modern glasses, similar to forming taffy, 10E7-9, or even cheddar cheese, 10E9 but in a more fluid condition than lead, 10El0, the range of annealing glass, 10E12.5-13.4 or the glass transition range, 10E11-13. GLASS SAMPLES Petrie reported finding 3 or 4 glass factories and 2 glaze workshops (2). However, industrial waste distributed in extensive trash heaps provided samples with information about the practice of glass crafts that had accumulated during the 15 years the complex was active. They were dug in 1891 and 1892 to recover artifacts and not microexcavated to reconstruct deposition. That glass and faience activity was extensive is indicated by the tremendous distribution of finds. Petrie found a "palace waste heap" with considerable evidence of glass technology to the southeast of the palace which he 5 mapped as being 800 ft across
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