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8 - Glass in the excavation of the Secano, the Alhambra

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 December 2023

Alberto García Porras
Affiliation:
Universidad de Granada
Chloë Duckworth
Affiliation:
Newcastle University
David J. Govantes-Edwards
Affiliation:
Newcastle University and Universidad de Córdoba, Spain
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Summary

One of the most prominent features of the excavation of the area of the Secano was the large number of glass fragments found, many of which correspond to production remains (scoria, threads, drops, etc.). This strongly suggests that glass-working activities were being carried out in situ. Many of these remains were found in contexts that are not easy to date, owing to the peculiarities of the site’s sequence, but many others have been securely dated to either side of the Christian takeover of the city in 1492, on both stratigraphic and typological grounds. This, in combination with the identification of a glaze furnace in Trench 1, makes the Secano a potentially crucial site for exploring glass and glaze technology and its evolution before and after the conquest. It is to be emphasized that glass and glazing technologies were strongly interrelated crafts throughout the Middle Ages, and this close relationship seems to have continued into the Early Modern Age, but the way their connections were articulated is not always perfectly understood, so the study of sites such as the Secano, in which both crafts are in direct contact during a potentially critical juncture in terms of the transmission of technology, can be enormously relevant. Apart from the production remains, the assemblage recovered includes various type of glass items, including blown and mould-blown artefacts, architectural glass, and ornamental items (often worked at lower temperatures than blown glass) such as bangles and figurines.

Keywords: Late medieval and early modern Spain; archaeological glass; glass production; glass typology.

Introduction

Glass is commonly found in archaeological excavations, often in small fragments as a result of its characteristic fragility. However, despite the important role that glass played in historical societies, archaeology has paid relatively little attention to this material, at least in comparison to other materials such as ceramics. One of the main reasons for this is that glass is not considered a reliable chronological indicator, as glass typologies often remained unchanged for long periods of time. Even so, the study of archaeological glass is crucial if we are to fully understand its value for past societies, as well as the associated mechanisms of production and circulation.

Since the production of the earliest glass objects, in the mid-3rd millennium B.C., the consumption of glass has done nothing but increase.

Type
Chapter
Information
The Royal Workshops of the Alhambra
Industrial Activity in Early Modern Granada
, pp. 135 - 148
Publisher: Boydell & Brewer
Print publication year: 2022

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