Based on the context of the site, the glass materials from Burnum are primarily dated to the first half of the 1st century, and originate from all the most important glassworks of that age, from northern Italy (Aquileia), Syrian/Palestinian area (Sidon) and Gallic/Rhine area
Glass was the first artificially made material, created by melting a mixture of quartz sand, soda or potash, and limestone, in which additional metal oxides were added to obtain different colours (copper for red and green, iron for green, manganese for purple and magenta, cobalt for dark blue). The invention of glass is associated with the area of the Phoenicians and Egypt, and is believed to have occurred at about the end of the 3rd and beginning of the 2nd millennium B.C. The earliest techniques for creating glass objects (technique of a sand core and technique of pouring and pressing into a mould) made the production process slow and difficult, and the created objects expensive. It was only with the invention of the glassblowing pipe in the 1st century BC that enabled faster and easier production of different types of glass products, which from that time forward were used in daily life. In the 1st century and later, all these glass production techniques were used, though by the end of that century, glass blowing completed replaced production using glass moulds.
Parallel to this process, new hotspots of glass making were arising throughout the Roman Empire – in Rome, Pompei, and Aquileia in Italy, and in the provinces of Galicia, Germania, Pannonia and Dalmatia. It is possible that after the Roman conquests the former Hellenic royal glassmakers migrated from East to West, where glassworks were founded. Though these glassworks were successors of the Hellenic tradition, they quickly surpassed it thanks to the new and innovative techniques of glassmaking that enabled the widescale production of less expensive glass products. Numerous glass materials unearthed at the Burnum site can be divided into several typological and functional classes. Tableware (bowls, bottles, jugs, glasses, skyphoses) served to store and consume food and drink, the second group consisted of glass items used for cosmetic purposes (balsamaries, bowls, dishes), and the third as jewellery (pearl beads).
Based on the context of the site, the glass materials from Burnum are primarily dated to the first half of the 1st century, and originate from all the most important glassworks of that age, from northern Italy (Aquileia), Syrian/Palestinian area (Sidon) and Gallic/Rhine area.
The most common finds are monochromatic or mosaic ribbed bowls produced using the mould technique. The ribbed bowls that appeared even during the time of the Republic, were produced in the Syrian/Palestinian and Roman/Italic glassworks. Particularly interesting are the bowls made from mosaic glass, created from the merging of fragments of multicoloured glass, to make different forms, such as spirals, concentric circles, stars, or even patterns imitating marble. Finds of mosaic glass dominate in the western part of the Empire, and went out of fashion in the 2nd half of the 1st century when they were replaced by monochromatic ribbed bowls. The second group of ribbed bowls was made up of the Zarte Rippenschalen, created by applying threads of blown glass to the bowls. They were produced in the western glassworks, and were likely brought o Burnum from Aquileia in northern Italy.
A small group of luxuriously made textured cups created by blowing glass into textured mould stands out in particular. These items were the work of master glass makers Ennion and Aristeas. Ennion was one of the best known glass masters, and was likely from Sidon.
Glass beads are among the oldest glass shapes. They could be worn in different ways and had a range of functions, one of which was always ornamental. Glass bead necklaces, bracelets and ankle bracelets were widely worn. They were used as ornamentation for hair and clothing, and very often as a decoration on ornamental metal items. Some beads also had symbolic or apotropaic value, which is why they were made from glass, a material believed to hold magical powers. Though these beads were primarily associated with female jewellery, mundus muliebris, they are also found in the graves of children as they served as amulets, protecting children during their life and also after their death. Their presence in the Roman military camp shows that they were also used by the Roman soldiers, as ornaments or as amulets.
