Re-Used Glass Fragments from Intercisa

Re-worked glass objects are known all over the Roman Empire, but detailed analysis of various types of re-working sherds have not yet been undertaken. In the following study, I give some examples of some interesting uses from Intercisa. The over thirty re-used glass vessel fragments from Intercisa are noteworthy since they come from the find material of a single vicus. It seems likely that the repurposing of broken glass vessels was a more common practice than the currently available publications would suggest. In all likelihood, it made good sense to re-use the fragments of broken glass vessels either as simple domestic objects or as grave good

The Tradition of Snake-Thread Glass in Pannonia

Snake-thread glass vessels were used from the late 2nd to the mid-3rd century AD. At least two production centres/distribution circles have been identified in the western part of the Roman Empire, which probably owed their existence to Syrian glassmaking artisans migrating to the west. One was located in the Rhine region, the other in Pannonia. Considering the distribution of snake-thread glass fragments known to date from Pannonia, it is striking that 52 of the currently known 112 fragments were found at Intercisa, 45 exemplars came to light at Brigetio and only a few pieces are known from other sites. It is remarkable that in both towns, glass workshops were active during the same period and there is also some evidence that snake-thread glass had been produced in the workshop of Brigetio

The secondary glass workshop in the civil town of Brigetio

In 2006 the Klapka György Museum of Komárom together with the Institute of Archaeological Sciences at Eötvös Loránd University carried out an excavation in the less researched area of the civil town of Brigetio, at 13 Vásártér, Komárom/Szőny. The conductors were Á. Gelencsér and E. Számadó. During the excavation of an area of 153 m², the living quarters of a striphouse constructed in different time periods, and a glass workshop related to one of these periods were discovered. The building had a five constructions period and a secondary glass workshop related to one of these. Some remains of two kilns were found in the workshop. One of them was rectangular with an apsis on one side and it was divided into two separate parts. The other kiln was circular, which must have been the melting furnace, while the rectangular one was the annealing furnace and they might have been connected to each other. In the courtyard of the striphouse four big rubbish pits consisting of cylindrical moiles, spoiled pieces, raw materials as chunks, additives used for coloring, almost the whole amount of the spoiled glass beads, glass rods, glass trails and glass drops with tool-marks on them were found. One hundred and twenty-one partly fragmentary and partly complete beads were uncovered in the pits. Spherical, cylindrical, biconical, shape of forms are represented among the glass beads. Our glass workshop operated within the limits of the civil town just in a short period in the first half of the 3rd century AD

Juglet Pendants from Pannonia

Most juglet pendants are of 4th century from Pannonia, the glass is frequently dark, appearing black. Although juglet pendants have a greater concentration in the eastern Mediterranean, they are also widely attested in the empire’s western half. The following study presents nine specimens from Hungary, eight from Pannonia Province. Three exemplars were parts of grave inventories, whose other items are also known (Bogád, Csongrád and Ságvár). All three burials can be securely dated to the fourth century. Despite the attractiveness of M. Stern’s suggestion, there is no good reason to associate the Pannonian juglet pendants recovered from mortuary contexts with Christianity. The pieces from Pannonia would rather suggest that juglet pendants cannot be associated with Christian beliefs because the other grave goods in the burials from which they were recovered belie this association

Glass vessels from Late Roman times found in Pannonia

The period between the beginning of the 4th century and the middle of the 5th century AD is the peak of glass production in Pannonia: there is a significant amount of very colourful and diverse glass finds, and there are whole series of vessels. This study is based on the typological classification of about 1000 glass finds. From the second half of the 4th century AD two regions can be highlighted with regard to the geographical distribution of glass vessels. The stretch of the limes between Arrabona and Intercisa, within the area of which the Danube Bend was the most remarkable one, as more than half of the vessels (53%) were found in this region. The other zone was the city of Sopianae and its vicinity, where 20% of the studied glass finds were found