Lapis Lazuli from the Kiln

Andrew J. Shortland is Professor of Archaeological Science at Cranfield University, working on the identification and interpretation of material culture from the ancient and historical worlds.

• Table of Contents List of illustrations List of color figuresList of tables 1 Introduction1.1 The structure of glass1.2 Glassmaking and glass melting1.3 Glasses and other vitreous materials 2 Introduction to Egypt and the Near East in the Late Bronze Age2.1 Politics and peoples2.2 Everyday life2.3 Crafts and industries 3 The first glass3.1 Glass before the sixteenth century BC 4 The first regularly produced glass4.1 Northern Syro-Palestine and Mesopotamia4.2 Egypt4.3 Source of the glass4.4 Towards model for the birth of glassmaking4.5 After Tuthmosis III - the reign of Amenhotep II4.6 Analysis and the glass of Tuthmosis III and Amenhotep II4.7 The first glassmaking workshops4.8 After Amenhotep II4.9 Summary of the first glass vessels5 The Golden Age of glass5.1 Significant finds of glass5.2 Nuzi5.3 Amarna5.4 Tutankhamen5.5 Objects of glass in the Late Bronze Age 6 The glass industry and its workshops6.1 Glassmaking sites6.2 The organisation of glass workshops6.3 Qantir6.4 Other Glass Workshops6.5 The manufacturing process6.6 Raw materials6.7 Technology6.8 Analysis and the reconstruction of glassmaking6.9 Glassworking 7 Trade and display7.1 Value7.2 Egyptian scenes7.3 Glass Ingots and Ulu Burun7.4 Amarna Letters7.5 Glass in the Levant7.6 Analysis and the trade in glass7.7 Aegean and mainland Greece7.8 Bronze Age Europe 8 The decline in glassmakingAppendix - Analytical techniquesA.1 BasicsA.2 Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM)A.3 Microprobe (SEM-WDS)A.4 Laser Ablation Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (LA-ICPMS)A.5 Lead isotope analysis (LIA)A.6 Strontium isotopic analysisA.7 Neodymium isotopic analysisAppendix - AnalysesReferencesGlossaryColor figures

In summary, Lapis Lazuli from the Kiln is a very useful resource, particularly for the student or for those who are new to the material or to the Late Bronze Age, for whom it provides a good introduction to the huge volume of research on glass production in this period. The glossary, images, analytical data and the overview of the subject provided by the text are useful; the integration of analytical, archaeological, historical and linguistic aspects is well managed; and the book is well written and accessible.Chloë N. Duckworth, Glass News, number 34, July 2013