Glass finds from Areas U and G at the Kom el-Dikka site in Alexandria (excavations in 2012 and 2013)

Glass finds from Areas U and G at the Kom el-Dikka site in Alexandria (excavations in 2012 and 2013)

Renata Kucharczyk

Abstract

The glass material from PCMA excavations on the Kom el-Dikka site in Alexandria in the 2012 and 2103 seasons consisted mainly of a late Roman/early Byzantine assemblage, mostly yellowish-green blown glass characterized by a homogeneity of the fabric, a limited variety of vessel types and simple workmanship, all indicative of a local glasshouse most likely operating at the site. Fragments of early and late Roman mosaic glass was also an important element of the set. Excavations in area US also yielded a handful of late Hellenistic/early Roman glasses: various types of cast bowls seldom previously reported from Kom el-Dikka, a linear-cut bowl, monochrome patella, and colorless bowl with broad rim and overhung edge. The assemblage coming from Area G (basement of the late Roman baths) comprised late Roman free-blown, utilitarian wares representing a limited range of forms. Also found in this area was cast glass of the late Hellenistic/early Roman period: mosaic glass and a grooved bowl, the latter recorded for the first time at Kom el-Dikka.

Keywords

Alexandria, Kom el-Dikka, cast glass, mosaic floral plaque, late Roman glass, late Roman mosaic glass, early Byzantine glass

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