From Thebes to Mycenae: exploring divergent vitreous industries in Mycenaean Greece

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The proposed project is an interdisciplinary investigation of glass and allied vitreous materials in the Mycenaean World, c. 1600-1050 BC. By focusing on the vitreous industries at the palaces of Mycenae and Thebes this study principally aims to provide models for the structure and operation of the vitreous industries and compare technological and economic aspects of their production. The technological origins and evolution of glass as an independent material in the Old World are only vaguely known. The mid-second millennium BC sees the appearance of fully-fledged glass industries in the Middle East and Egypt, which has always been associated with the making of glass vessels due to their large scale production. Nevertheless, the Mycenaean glass industry is set apart from its contemporary glass-producing centres due to the almost exclusive manufacture of glass ornaments. Mycenaean glass is mainly found in dark blue and turquoise colour and its forms fall into the iconographic repertoire of the typical Mycenaean jewellery.Despite evidence of interaction amongst crafts and industries through diverse cultural encounters, the archaeological and to an extent, analytical evidence, has demonstrated an independent operation of glass industries. To date there is little understanding as to whether the Mycenaean glass industry involved primary production. To help answer this question, scientific analyses of glass from the Palaces of Mycenae and Thebes will be used to explore the evolutionary stages of Mycenaean glass technology. To allow further comparison the acropolis of Midea in the vicinity of Mycenae and sites in the northern periphery of the Mycenaean dominion, Phokis and Lokris, the Ionian islands, and Cyprus in the far east of the Mycenaean World will also be included. These regions have been selected due to the abundance and diversity of vitreous objects and their involvement in a dynamic trade of goods in the Late Bronze Age.Chemical and microstructural characterisation in conjunction with targeted trace element analysis will be used as a means of characterising raw materials of the widest collection of well-dated glass artefacts across the Mycenaean World. By identifying trace element discriminants in glass raw materials, and linking these to their geological sources, the degree of independence of vitreous industries can be identified. Procurement of raw materials, raw glass, finished glass objects will be examined within the trade networks of vitreous industries in the Near East, Mediterranean and Europe. By tracing the broader cultural contacts amongst Mycenaean palatial states and urban centres in the Aegean, the degree of independence of the Mycenaean glass industry will be defined. This will further elucidate the puzzling infrequence of Mycenaean glass in sites of the Mycenaean periphery or outside the Mycenaean dominion. In addition, patterns of glass exchange will be illustrated, technology transfer and the extent of industrial interaction amongst glass-producing centres will be highlighted and ultimately, an outline of possible monopolies in glass production and circulation will be provided within the economic and administration systems of Mediterranean and Europe in the Late Bronze Age. This powerful methodology can delineate specific technological characteristics of concurrent vitreous industries and thus define clear-cut production zones. The research will discriminate amongst industries with similar technological traditions but with divergent practices arising from local environments, diverse cultural contexts, functional needs, ideas and beliefs. Given the absence of securely defined remains of glass workshops in the Old World the research is of crucial significance in Mycenaean and prehistoric studies as well as in ancient glass studies.