Today, we venture back to the point where we started turning boring sand into beautiful glass. How did we turn this common ingredient into a clear crystal? What problems did they have, and why was coloured glass the original idea?

References:

• Degryse, P., Scott, R. B., & Brems, D. (2014). The archaeometry of ancient glassmaking: Reconstructing ancient technology and the trade of raw materials. Perspective, (2), 224–238. https://doi.org/10.4000/perspective.5617

• Gherardi, F. (2022). Compositional and morphological investigations of Roman glass from cremation deposits at Birdoswald Fort on Hadrian’s Wall, UK. Heritage, 5(1), 362–377. https://doi.org/10.3390/heritage5010021

• Jackson, C. M., Paynter, S., Nenna, M.-D., & Degryse, P. (2016). Glassmaking using natron from el-Barnugi (Egypt); Pliny and the Roman glass industry. Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences, 10(5), 1179–1191. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12520-016-0447-4

• Lü, Q.-Q., Henderson, J., Wang, Y., & Wang, B. (2021). Natron glass beads reveal proto-Silk Road between the Mediterranean and China in the 1st millennium BCE. Scientific Reports, 11(1), Article 2911. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-82245-w

• Muros, V. (n.d.). Down in the dumps: Analysis of glass production debris from Petrie's excavations at Amarna. Smithsonian Research Online.

• Rasmussen, S. C. (n.d.). A brief history of early silica glass: Impact on science and society. Firenze University Press.

• Shortland, A. (n.d.). Glass production. UC Berkeley: eScholarship.

Script writing, recording and editing done by me, Jake. Sound effects and backing music from Pixabay.

Noticed a mistake? Let me know at thechemistrytimelinepod@gmail.com

Fancy making a shiny new cover art, or a unique theme song, reach out to me using the email above to discuss.

Chapters:

(00:00) Intro

(02:17) Act 1 - The Vitreous State: What is a glass?

(07:15) Act 2 - The Magic of Flux: The Ancient Egyptian Recipe

(12:04) Act 3 - Colour, Clarity and the Roman Factory

(15:25) Conclusion