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Colchester Archaeological Report 8

Colchester Archaeological Report 8 is a study of the Roman vessel glass from the excavations at Colchester between 1971 and 1985. The sites include Lion Walk, Balkerne Lane and Middleborough (Colchester Archaeological Report 3), Culver Street and the Gilberd School (Colchester Archaeological Report 6), and the Roman cemeteries at Butt Road (Colchester Archaeological Report 9).

Although the authors' principal aim is the publication of the very large quantity of glass from the recent excavations, they have also provided a broad overview of the glass in use in the town and its surrounding area. This draws on material from earlier excavations and chance finds: many Empire-wide parallels are cited. The glass ranges in date from the earliest years of the roman conquest to the end of the 4th century. The majority of the forms common in Roman Britain are discussed in relation to Colchester. The pre-Boucian material is of particular importance, which, combined with the Sheepen glass, forms an assemblage unrivalled in Britain for the range and richness of its mid 1st-century vessels.

Various chapters provide detailed discussions supported by illustrations and catalogues of the cast, the mould-blown and the polychrome vessels, as well as of the cups and beakers, the bowls, the jars, the jugs, the flasks and small unguent bottles, and the larger bottles. The small amount of waste from glass-vessel production in the town is also considered. The chronological and functional overviews of the glass vessels and the discussion of their sources are likely to be especially useful to those with a more general interest in Roman Britain. The nature of the glass assemblages from the different sites is considered in the final chapter.

Contributors include M J Baxter and M P Heyworth who report on a programme of scientific analysis of the colourless glass.

Publication of the report was made possible by a generous grant from English Heritage.

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