Preliminary Report on the 1997 Swiss-Liechtenstein excavations at ez Zantur
by Bernhard Kolb (with contributions by Daniel Keller and Yvonne Gerber)
VIII. Ez Zantur IV: Glass finds from room 6
The destruction by an earthquake was clearly visible in the finds from room 6: Below the collapsed wooden beams and fragments of the wall decoration there were diverse, broken vessels of both glass and pottery, lying directly on the paved floor. The fact that this destruction layer on EZ IV can be connected with the earthquake of 363 AD was already proved by the coins found during the 1996 campaign in corridor 2 Kolb 1997: 234. .
It is noticeable that all the ceramic and glass vessels found lay on the floor along walls H and K and that not a single one was found in the central area of the room. Wooden shelving, standing against these walls would be a possible explanation for this phenomenon – but if they existed they have left no trace.
Analysis of the glass finds
Apart from a large quantity of undeterminable and undecorated wall sherds there were seven more or less determinable glass vessels. These are: the rim fragment of a shallow bowl with cracked off rim and a broad incised groove on the outside just below the rim (Fig. 15. Nr. 1); an almost completely preserved conical beaker with cracked-off rim, three broad incised grooves on the outside and a small shallow slightly concave bottom (Fig.15. Nr. 2); a rim sherd of a second beaker with the same form but with two broad incised grooves (Fig. 15. Nr. 3); a rim fragment of a conical goblet with a rounded straight rim (Fig. 15. Nr. 4); the rim fragment of a bottle or an unguentarium with a rounded, sloping rim, funnel-shaped spout and a folded flange immediately below the rim (Fig. 15. Nr. 5); the concave bottom of a large vessel with a spherical body (Fig. 15. Nr. 6) and finally a second concave bottom sherd (Fig. 15. Nr. 7).
Fig. 15 Nr. 1–7: EZ IV. Glass finds from room 6 (drawings: D. Keller)
There are two distinguishable qualities of glass: on the one hand vessels of good quality clear glass with fairly thick walls (Nr. 1–3) and on the other hand vessels of thin, corroded bluish green to greenish blue glass (Nr. 4–7). It is very likely that the thin walled, greenish blue glass of lower quality belong to a cheap local production while the vessels of better quality thick-walled bleached glass could be regarded as an imports This supposition is made partly because greenish blue glass is much commoner than colourless glass, at least in the Late Roman strata on az-Zantur. On the phenomenon of simple cheap glass vessels being locally produced in Roman towns while lighter quality glass was imported specialised workshops. Cf. Rütti 1991: 144–168. On the existence of specialised glass workshops of the 4th century AD in Palestine see Davidson Weinberg 1987: 62–70; Kuhnen 1990: 285; Kuhnen 1994: 47. . Whether the difference in quality of the glass is really a reflection of its provenance can only be suggested at the moment. There are numerous comparisons for the thick-walled, colourless vessels with cracked-off rim (Nr. 1–3) from the glass factory in Jalame in the Carmel region (Israel) which was active in the 3rd quarter of the 4th century AD On vessel Nr. 1 see Davidson Weinberg and Goldstein 1988: 94–96 Nr. 459–464 Figs. 4, 48, 459–464; on the pair of conical beakers Nr. 2–3 see Davidson Weinberg and Goldstein 1988: 93 Nr. 439–449 Figs. 4, 47, 439–449. On the dating of activities of the glass factory in the decades between 350 and 380 AD: Kuhnen 1994: 47 footnote 28. . So it is tempting to consider these vessels as imports from the Palestinian area, for example from Galilee.
A completely preserved rim (Nr. 1) is comparable to a bowl from Samaria, which not only has horizontal incised grooves but also an incised decoration of stars and greek letters. It is supposed to come from a 4th century AD context Crowfoot 1957: 416–417 Nr. 1 Fig. 97,1. . Rims of undecorated bowls of this shape are known from our site EZ I in Petra from layers of the 4th and 5th centuries AD. These shallow bowls can thus be regarded as a typical example of glass drinking vessels of the 4th-5th centuries in Palestine and Transjordan This is true not only in the Syro-Palestinian area or in the Eastern Mediterranean but also in Europe: Isings 1957: 143–144 Form 116. . Conical glass beakers with wide incised grooves ocassionally appear in later find contexts in Transjordan, for example in the 1st half of the 5th century AD in Callirhoë (’Aïn ez-Zâra) and from the late 4th till early 6th centuries in the legionary fortress of el-Lejjûn Callirrhoë: O. Dussart, Les verres in Clamer 1997: 100 Pl. 26, 1. On the dating of the Late Roman settlement of Callirrhoë see the coins found there dated to the years 383–457 AD; cf. Clamer 1997: 92–93 Nr. 22–57; el-Lejjûn: Jones 1987: 624. 626. 634. 642 Nr. 20. 45 Figs. 127, 20. 131, 45. . Undecorated beakers of the same form appear on site EZ I chiefly in the layers of building phase Late Roman I i. e. before 363 AD; the same is true of similar beakers with blue blobs. A fragmentary conical beaker with engraved decoration from the American Excavations of the Temple of the Winged Lions in Petra is also from the destruction level of the 363 AD earthquake Hammond and Johnson 1994: 333. 336 Fig. 5. . The conical beaker can therefore – at least in Petra – be considered a leading form in the middle of the 4th century AD with a few late follow-ups- whether these beakers were used as drinking cups or lamps in the Late Roman period is still a matter of discussion. There are convincing arguments for both uses – both from the find contexts and from the pictorial sources – so that both suggestions can be taken into consideration Now concisely summarised by Fleming 1997: 32; Zevulun and Olenik 1978: 21. 41–42; Davidson Weinberg and Goldstein 1988: 89–91. . The findings in room 6, however, suggest that these beakers were used as drinking vessels rather than as lamps, since there are absolutely no holders which could have supported the beakers as lamps. These would have been necessary, had they been used as lamps while for a drinking cup they are not necessary, since a drinking cup can be held in the hand and placed upside down on its rim when empty On the phenomenon that artificial stands for drinking vessels without an appropriate base are a rare commodity e. g. the painted Nabataean fineware; see S. G. Schmid, Die Feinkeramik der Nabatäer: Typologie, Chronologie und kulturhistorische Hintergründe, in: B. Kolb and S. G. Schmid, Petra-ez Zantur II, Terra Archaeologica III (forthcoming). . Rim fragment Nr. 4 with its rounded rim and conical wall likewise has parallels from Jamale Davidson Weinberg and Goldstein 1988: 40–41. 62 Nr. 8. 187 Figs. 4. 2, 8. 4, 24, 187. . However comparable rims are already present in Dura Europos (Syria) of the 3rd century AD Clairmont 1963: 103 Nr. 473 Pl. 11, 473. . Such vessels also appear in the Late Roman fort of Mazed Tamar (Israel) however they cannot be more precisely dated there since the fort was occupied from the late 3rd to the early 7th centuries AD. Most of the glass finds from Mezad Tamar belong to the 4th and 5th centuries AD Erdmann 1977: 106–107 Nr. 565. 570 Pls. 6,565. 570. On the postulated dating of most of the glass vessels and the duration of occupation of the fort see Erdmann 1977: 98. 111; Kuhnen 1989: 64. . The rim fragments of this form from Khirbet Shema’ (Israel) probably also belong in the 4th and early 5th centuries Meyers and Kraabel and Strange 1976: Pls. 8,4,16–21; on the debated stratigraphy and chronology as well as the uncertain break in occupation in the early 5th century AD in Khirbet Shema’ see: Kuhnen 1989: 24–25. 33. >. The form is also known in Transjordan, but in later find contexts – for example Callirrhoë (’Aïn ez-Zâra) in the 1st half of the 5th century and from el-Lejjûn in the 1st half of the 6th century AD Callirrhoë: O. Dussart in Clamer 1997: 100 Pl. 26, 3–4; el-Lejjûn: Jones 1987: 625. 640 Nr. 39–40 Figs. 130, 39–40. . Rims of such beakers appear on terrace EZ I in layers belonging to the 4th and 5th centuries AD. Whether this rim can be reconstructed as a conical beaker with a shallow pushed-in base, as other, well preserved vessels imply See e. g. such a glass from Samaria: Crowfoot 1957: 416 Nr. 10 Fig. 96, 10; a similar vessel in Toronto cf. Hayes 1975: 104 Nr. 379 Fig. 11, 379. can only be suggested. A reconstruction of such a beakers with a concave bottom would also be possible. Most importantly, this form is one of commonest glass types of the 4th century AD although it already appears in the 3rd century and continues into the 5th and 6th centuries. The funnel-shaped spout closed with a folded flange immediately below the rim of the spout can be compared with Syrian gutturnia with pear-shaped bodies Hayes 1975: 60–61 Nr. 157 Fig. 7,157. , usually dated to the 3rd century AD e. g. the rims from Dura Europos dated pre-256 AD Clairmont 1963: 104–106 Nr. 487–488. 500–501 Pl. 12, 487–8. 500–501. . Such ointment containers appear in the necropole on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem till the middle of the 4th century AD Bagatti and Milik 1958: 143–144. 152 Nr. 12. 24. 26 Figs. 33, 12. 24. 26. On the dating of the grave 230 see Kuhnen 1989: Beilage 3 Nr. 53. . This form can thus also be considered as a representative of the Late Roman glass corpus of the mid 4th century in the Near East. Glass vessels with concave bottoms (Nr. 6–7) are extremely common in the Near East in the Late Roman period. While they usually belong to bottles, when found in the glass factory of Jalame Davidson Weinberg and Goldstein 1988: 76–77 Nr. 309–317. , the finds from the Late Roman dwellings on az-Zantur (EZ I) in Petra show that, at least in the 4th-5th centuries they were more likely to be found on bowls Keller 1996: Pp. 295–297. 303 Nr. 1 Fig. 879 Pl. 6,1. . While the relatively high preserved wall of Nr. 6 suggests a closed form it is not possible to draw a conclusion about either fragment.
In general what we have is a small but – for the 363 AD earthquake level – typical ensemble of glass vessels Another find complex with glass vessel-fragments similar in composition (FK 1301, 113/H Abs. 4) was found during the 1997 season on site EZ III together with 3 coins: EF 1311 (3rd–4th centuries AD), EF 1313 (358–361 AD) und EF 1316 (Nabataean). . That four of these vessels can be described as drinking vessels is not surprising, but illustrates the position which glass had in the Late Roman tableware where it had, to a large extent, replaced fineware – or at least complemented it See Kuhnen 1989: 66–67, where the central significance of glass of Palestine, at least in the middle of the 4th century AD is demonstrated. . In Late Roman Petra this seems to have been especially true of drinking ware – i. e. bowls and cups. However the glass here did not appear as the replacement for stamped Terra sigillata vessels as it did in Palestine, but in concurrence with local Nabataean fine ware. Plates and platters could also be ARS vessels See e. g. the ARS vessels from the Late Roman dwellings on EZ I in Schneider 1996: 139–140 Figs. 592–598. . What is surprising is that there are more cups (Nr. 2–4) than bowls (Nr. 1) in this ensemble. This proportion is completely reversed – in favour of bowls – in the layers of building phase Late Roman II on EZ I which is dated only a couple of decades later The previous reconstructions of room 111 as a peristyle are thus untenable. . The situation in the late 4th and early 5th centuries where glass bowls had completely replaced the local fine ware bowls is already apparent in the mid 4th century AD where bowls in both materials appear together in the same find complex (see bowl Fig. 18).
Catalogue
Rim sherd of a shallow bowl with cracked-off rim and a broad incised groove on the outside below the rim (Fig. 15, Nr. 1)
PQ 89–90/AQ–AR, Abs. 3, FK 3065, in front of wall K
Colourless
Diameter: c. 18 cm
Height: 2.6 cm
Wall thickness: 0.08 cm (broken edge), 0.09 cm (rim)
Whole profil of a conical beaker with cracked-off rim, three broad incised grooves on the outside and a flat, slightly concave, small bottom (Fig. 15, Nr. 2)
PQ 89/AR, Abs 3, FK 3051, in front of wall H (EF 3066)
Colourless
Diameter: 9.6 cm
Height: 19.1 cm
Wall thickness: 0.20–0.25 cm (wall), 0.15 cm (rim)
Rim sherd of a conical beaker with cracked-off rim and two broad incised grooves (Fig. 15, Nr. 3)
PQ 89–90/AQ–AR, Abs. 3, FK 3065, in front of wall K
Colourless
Diameter: 10.2 cm
Height: 6.6 cm
Wall thickness: 0.14 cm (broken edge), 0.16 cm (rim)
Rim sherd of a conical goblet with rounded rim (Fig. 15. Nr. 4)
PQ 88–89/AQ–AR, Abs. 3, FK 3051, in front of wall H
Greenish blue
Diameter: 9.4 cm
Height: 3.2 cm
Wall thickness: 0.05 cm
Rim sherd of a closed form with rounded rim and a folded flange immediately below (Fig. 15, Nr. 5)
PQ 89–90/AQ–AR, Abs. 3, FK 3065, in front of wall K
Bluish green
Diameter: 5.2 cm
Height: 1.6 cm
Wall thickness: 0.10 cm
Bottom and wall sherd of a vessel with a concave bottom and hemispherical body (Fig. 15, Nr. 6)
PQ 88–89/AR, Abs. 3, FK 3051, in front of wall H
Greenish blue
Diameter: 5.8 cm
Height: 5.0 cm
Wall thickness: 0.05 cm (broken edge), 0.13 cm (centre of bottom)
Bottom sherd of a vessel with concave bottom (Fig. 15, Nr. 7)
PQ 88–89/AR, Abs. 3, FK 3051, in front of wall H
Greenish blue
Diameter: 3 cm
Height: 0.75 cm
Wall thickness: 0.05 cm (broken edge), 0.23 cm (centre of bottom)
Daniel Keller Schweizerisch-Liechtensteinische Ausgrabungen in Petra der Universität Basel Schönbeinstrasse 20 4056 Basel
