The recent discovery in Israel of 1,600-year-old kilns for the production of glass has convinced archaeologists that Roman Palestine was one of the world’s leading centers for glassmaking, as i24 News reports:
The kilns, which were discovered during an excavation carried out as part of the Jezreel Valley Railway Project, consisted of two built compartments. They included a firebox where kindling was burned to create a very high temperature, and a melting chamber—in which the raw materials for the glass (clean beach sand and salt) were inserted and melted together at a temperature of 1,200 degrees Centigrade.
“This is a very important discovery with implications regarding the history of the glass industry both in Israel and in the entire ancient world,” said Yael Gorin-Rosen, head curator of the Israel Antiquities Authority Glass Department.
“We know from historical sources dating to the Roman period that the Valley of Acre was renowned for the excellent quality of sand located there, which was highly suitable for the manufacture of glass,” she added. “Chemical analyses conducted on glass vessels from this period which were discovered until now at sites in Europe and in shipwrecks in the Mediterranean basin have shown that the source of the glass is from our region. Now, for the first time, the kilns have been found where the raw material was manufactured that was used to produce this glassware.”
Read more on i24 News: http://www.i24news.tv/en/news/israel/109334-160411-1-600-year-old-kilns-prove-israel-was-world-center-for-glass-production