Lapis Lazuli from the Kiln examines the history of the first glass, from its early sporadic occurrence, through the height of its production in the late second millennium BC, to its disappearance at the end of that millennium. The book draws on an exceptionally wide range of sources including ancient texts detailing recipes and trade in glass, iconographic depictions in tombs and temples, archaeological excavation of the most important sites including Amarna and Qantir, and the description of...

For all archaeological artefactual evidence, the study of the provenance, production technology and trade of raw materials must be based on archaeometry. Whereas the study of the provenance and trade of stone and ceramics is already well advanced, this is not necessarily the case for ancient glass. The nature of the raw materials used and the geographical location of their transformation into artefacts often remain unclear. Currently, these questions are addressed by the use of radiogenic iso...