Part.I-Studies of Ancient Glass and Glass-making Processes
JSGT 1954 V38 T436-T444
Studies of Ancient Glass and Glass-making Processes. Part I. Crucibles and Melting Temperatures Employed in Ancient Egypt at about 1370 BC
The type of crucible in use at Tell-el-Arnarna, Egypt, about 1370 BC, for the final melting of glasses was cylindrical in shape, 7 inches in diameter and 5 inches in height, both measured externally. The bottom interior was usually covered with a yellowish layer, ca. 0·6 mm thick, and this in turn by a greyish film, which also spread up the sides, both layers 'presumably intended to increase resistance to corrosion. The texture of the body was coarse and the inner and outer surfaces pink to terra-cotta in colour after the crucible had been fired, the interior varying from chocolate to very dark brown. The composition was far removed from that of a modern fireclay, being distinguished by a high content of iron oxide (6–8% Fe2O3), high lime, magnesia and alkalis, the crucible being liable, indeed, to fusion to a dark-coloured glass when heated above 1200°. Both because of the composition of the crucibles and by direct experiment, it was concluded that the upper limit of glass-melting temperatures was 1100°. The practical limit employed may well have been lower.
W. E. S. Turner
