Anglo-Saxon glass
Glass in the Anglo-Saxon period was used in the manufacture of a range of objects including vessels, beads, windows and was even used in jewellery.
[2] The majority of complete vessels and assemblages of beads come from the excavations of early Anglo-Saxon cemeteries, but a change in burial rites in the late 7th century affected the recovery of glass, as Christian Anglo-Saxons were buried with fewer grave goods, and glass is rarely found.
More recent excavations of contemporary settlements have revealed fragments of similar vessels types, indicating there are few, if any, differences between domestic glass and those ritually deposited in graves.
[5] There is a significant difference between Roman and Anglo-Saxon vessel forms, and glass working techniques became more limited.
Few of the Anglo-Saxon forms can be classified as tableware, as this term implies to some extent that vessels can be set on a flat surface.
[2][5] The vast majority of early Anglo-Saxon female graves contain beads, which are often found in large numbers in the area of the neck and chest.
A variety of materials other than glass were available for Anglo-Saxon beads including; amber, rock crystal, amethyst, bone, shells, coral and even metal.
[10] To date only two extensive chemical analysis studies of Anglo-Saxon bead assemblages have been carried out, from the cemeteries of Sewerby in Yorkshire and Apple Down in Sussex.
These studies showed that, like glass vessels, the beads had a modified soda-lime-silica composition with high manganese and iron oxide contents.
[12] Lead rich opaque glass was also prominent in Anglo-Saxon Britain, most likely due to its lower softening temperature and longer working period, which would not melt or distort the bead body.
[13] The bead body could be constructed in a number of different ways; winding, drawing, piercing, folding or even a combination of these.
[11][13] With the introduction of Christianity in the early 7th century and the building of ecclesiastical structures the amount of window glass also increased.
Hundreds of window glass fragments have been found at Jarrow, Wearmouth, Brandon, Whithorn and Winchester.
[14][15] This evidence supports the historical records, such as Bede’s account of Benedict Biscop’s importation of glaziers from Gaul to glaze the windows in the monastery at Wearmouth in AD 675.
[3][15] Most Anglo-Saxon window glass is thin, durable, bubbly and when colourless has a pale bluish-green tint.
[17][15] Window glass in antiquity could be produced in three ways; cylinder blown, crown manufacture or cast.
[17] At this time political problems in the Delta-Wadi Natrun region caused a shortage of natron in the Middle East where the raw glass was produced.
[16] HIMT stands for high iron, manganese and titanium glass, nm for not measured and where there were only traces or the value was below the analytical equipment's detection limits <0.1 is used.
