Summary

The work is the revised edition of a doctoral dissertation originally submitted to the University of Basle, presenting those glass vessels recovered from the Roman colony of Augusta Raurica and the Castrum Rauracense, in the present communities of Augst and Kaiseraugst (Switzerland), during the 19th and 20th centuries, up to A.D. 1980.

Founded in the second decade B.C., the Colonia Pia Apollinaris Augusta Emerita Raurica (Augusta Raurica) lay 12 km East of the modern city of Basle on the left bank of the Upper Rhine. The urban area included an upper town on a natural terrace (Oberstadt) and a lower town on the Rhine (Unterstadt). The colony flourished during the first two centuries of our era, its decline dating from the period of the armed conflicts which commenced around the middle of the third century and by the end of that century, the settlement was shifting to the Lower Town where the Late Roman Fortress, Castrum Rauracense, was built on the southern bank of the Rhine. The fortress was a cultural centre built around a key strategic position, and it was only in the early Middle Ages that the nearby city of Basle eclipsed it.

Of the 8,364 glass finds recorded in the Museum inventories for Augst and Kaiseraugst, 5,112 vessels were computer registered. As the finds are mainly derived from the ancient settlement, fragmentary vessels accout for the largest part of the finds. Excluded from the documentation were undecorated fragments of vessels whose original form could not be identified. The sheer quantity of material and data made it virtually impossible to attempt a systematic analysis of every aspect of these finds within a realistic time frame, so that certain points had to be stressed at the cost of others. As there are already several typological analyses of Roman glass, this work concentrates on questions related to the overall archaeological context of the finds.

The work is composed of four parts. The first part deals with the forms of the vessels and the dates suggested by their respective archaeological contexts, as well as colouration and origin. The second part is concerned with the analysis of the distribution of the finds in the various parts of the city, and the employment of glass vessels in the entire area of the settlement. The third part is devoted to the finds from the tombs of the colony and those of the Late Roman Fortress. The fourth part presents the exhaustive catalogue of the vessels ordered by form.

The Roman glass vessels from Augst and Kaiseraugst have been arranged in 180 types including virtually the entire spectrum of common vessel forms used in the western provinces during the first four centuries of our era (AR 1-AR 180; AR = form in Augusta Raurica; where relevant these are associated with the Isings 1957 forms, e.g., AR 34/I 12, or those of Goethert-Polaschek 1977 [Trier], e.g., AR 1/T 2).

Roughly 80% of these are blown glass, and only 20% cast (moulded). A majority have the so-called natural blue-green and green hues (naturfarbene Gläser), being about two thirds of the total. Coloured vessels represent another quarter. Colourless glass accounts for about 15%. Mosaic glass make up a mere 5% of the total.

In the first part of this study, devoted to the finds as such, the chapter Dating the Finds presents those pieces of glass from Augusta Raurica and the Castrum Rauracense which can be dated by find context. Concentrating on those finds which can be dated using the associated pottery, an analysis of each type was not attempted, given the quantities involved. The datable forms are incorporated into histogramms and tables, aside from being discussed in individual chapters arranged by period.

With nearly 100 different types, the first century A.D. proved to have had the broadest spectrum of vessels. The index form of this period is the ribbed bowl AR 2/I 3 (Rippenschale). These vessels account for more than half the total during the early first century, and still make up a third at the end of the century. From the second quarter of the first century the square bottle AR 156/I 50 is also getting increasingly common. None of the other forms is represented in significant quantities, but among the forms characteristic of this period are shallow dishes AR 1/T 2, and ribbed bowls with marvered threads AR 28/I 17 (zarte Rippenschalen) and hemispherical cups AR 34/I 12. New forms, distinguished by their fine wheel-cut and relief decoration, appear during the second half of the first century, particularly in the Flavian period. These include the facet-cut beakers AR 45/I 21, beakers with lotus buds AR 33/I 31 (Knospenbecher) and cups and beakers with scenes of gladiatorial combat, chariot racing or athletic contests AR 31-AR 32 (Zirkusbecher).

A more limited variety of types was apparent during the second century in Augusta Rauricorm. Types dating to the first half of the century are the wheel-cut bowls with overhanging rims AR 16.2/T 23 (Kragenschalen), the carinated or hemispherical cups AR 38-AR 40 and the conical beakers AR 44-AR 48. The square bottle AR 156/I 50 remains one of the most commonly found vessels. The index type for the later second century is the cylindrical cup AR 98/I 85, accounting for about a quarter of the total.

The types used during the first half of the third century do not differ substantially from those of the late second century. The cylindrical cup AR 98/I 85 is still among the most common types, along with the square bottle AR 156/I 50. Gradually becoming statistically more significant from the middle of the century is the hemispherical cup AR 60/I 96 with wheel-cut geometrical and figurative decoration. A wealth of new forms appeared during the last quarter of the century, distinctly changing the basic make-up of the typological spectrum. The cylindrical cups and square bottles virtually vanish, and the elaborate wheel-cut decoration of the hemispherical cups AR 60/I 96 is abandoned, giving way to plain vessels for the most part.

Characteristic for the glass vessels of Late Antiquity in Augst and Kaiseraugst are the numerous variations of the conical beaker AR 64-AR 73 and the hemispherical cups. The proportion of high quality vessels like the ovoid (AR 172/I 120) and carinated jugs (AR 173/I 123) also distinguished the contemporary répertoire from that of the earlier periods.

A comparison of the glass finds from Augusta Raurica with dated finds from other sites does not reveal any significant differences. The rather generous time frames given for specific glass types are frequently related to the methods used to date excavated units, the excavations themselves, and the development of the settlement itself.

The analysis of the colouration of the vessels from Augst and Kaiseraugst is based on the precise identification of the colours and hues of those vessels dated by excavation context.

Just as the spectrum of types was broadest during the first century A.D., the same vessels reveal the most manifold variations in colour. Aside from the naturally coloured vessels are the single tone dyed pieces ranging from blue and green through brown and amber to wine red. Most of the mosaic glass specimens can also be ascribed to the first century. Colourless glass appears after the middle of the first century, becoming gradually more popular during the second century, attaining the zenith of their distribution during the third century.

The naturally coloured blue-green glass (naturfarbenes Glas) generally has an intensive blue or even turquoise hue during the first century, which gradually gives way to a dark green. It may be possible to attribute the increase in the proportion of greenish glass to the local production of simple common glass. The colouration changes in the late third century, with colourless glass virtually disappearing, while the hitherto blue to dark green naturally coloured glass become light green to olive green. Blue-green glass is practically unknown in the fourth centrury. The break in the colouration parallels that apparent from the forms as well and can probably be attributed to the new economic organization, which will have resulted in access to other centres of production and other sources for the raw materials.

An excursus devoted to the mosaic glass vessels from Augusta Raurica revealed that these can be divided into two main groups, based on decoration, form, method of production and date. The earlier group is that of the cast coloured vessels dating to Julio-Claudian period, while the second group, including both cast and blown glass, first appears during the Flavian period, and continues into the third century.

The decoration of the early mosaic glass is formed of stripes (Streifenmosaikgläser), reticelli threads (Reticellagläser), spirals, simple floral rosettes and dapples (millefiori), or patterns imitating the coloured veins of marble (marmorierte Gläser). It appears on both plain, and ribbed bowls.

The decoration of the cast vessels produced later consists of floral rosettes (millefiori) whose complicated composition differs significantly from that of the earlier products. Simple circles (Kreisaugen) and columnar rod decoration as well as bichrome concentric circles (Pfauenaugen) and imitations of agate are also found. The latest products include miniature vessels, and bowls with flaring or overhanging rims. Blown mosaic glass, which appeared for the first time around the end of the first century A.D., have a dappled decoration or a layer with floral patterns ("Millefiori-Überfang"). Blown glass objects are primarily cylindrial cups, probably along with juglets and flasks.

The identification of the origin remains one of the main questions posed by the study of ancient glass. Lacking a detailed analysis of the individual forms for the localisation of the points of production, one is obliged to fall back on the hypotheses advanced in the literature. As the former project lay beyond the scope of the present work, the chapter devoted to the sources of the glass vessels found at Augst and Kaiseraugst is limited to cursory remarks concerning the areas which come into question.

Although local glass makers may have been able to satisfy part of the demand in Augusta Raurica, most of the vessels must have been imported. Concentrations of finds and the distribution of identical - or similar - objects are used to locate these glass makers.

Until the middle of the first century, glass will have been primarily delivered from Italian manufacturers, and from Gallic or eastern sources to a lesser extent. The precise locations of these glass makers cannot however be established. In Italy, they may have been in Campania, the area of Rome, the basin of the Po and the northern Adriatic coast. In Gaul, our sources may have been in the Valley of the Rhône and in Burgundy. In the Near East, glass factories on the Syro-Palestinian coast and Egypt are also potential sources.

During the second half of the first century, and early in the following century, fine glass, including both colourless and mosaic glass, continued to be imported from the South and possibly from the Orient as well. Simple wares, however, came increasingly from Gallic and Germanic glass makers, which cannot unfortunately be specifically identified.

From the middle of the second century - at the latest - high quality wares will have been products of the Rhine Valley for the most part, the major portion of which will have come from Cologne. Individual luxury objects will still have continued to arrive from Syria, Egypt and Italy. The steadily high demand for glass vessels for daily use will have been virtually completely satisfied by producers in the northwestern Provinces, and local glass makers.

In the late third and fourth centuries, luxury vessels will only very exceptionally have come from beyond the Rhine Valley, while producers in northern Gaul will probably have been able to satisfy the need for ordinary glass wares. It is impossible to ascertain whether local glass makers were active in Late Antiquity, and if so, what the extent of their production may have been.

Glass furnaces, crucibles, wasters and moulds demonstrate that glass was produced in the colony itself. The analysis of these finds has not yet been completed, so that in the chapter on local glass manufacture is limited to a presentation of the evidence, i.e., the glassmakers' tools and products.

The earliest indications of local production can be dated to the third quarter of the first century A.D. Wasters and broken glass from Insula 29 suggest that these early glass factories were situated in the quarters near the centre of the Upper City. Around the turn of the century, the glass makers moved to the edges of the city, where waste has been found on the southern limits, and in the Lower Town. In Kaiseraugst, where glass furnaces were found in the 1970's, production can only be proven for the later second or early third century, as pottery of this date was found in conjunction with fragments of crucibles. The time span during which glass objects were manufactured here can thus not yet be definitely established. It is equally uncertain whether these local workshops used quartz sand and soda as raw materials. Aside from a few rock crystal finds, there is absolutely no evidence of manufacture employing these raw materials, while the numerous fragments of broken glass make it probable that exclusively glass ingots and glass waste were used.

The glass makers of Augst and Kaiseraugst will have produced only the most ordinary common wares. Local products will have included simple flasks and juglets, which went directly into the tombs for the most part. Also locally produced were aryballoi AR 151/I 61, and square bottles AR 156/I 50 which served as vessels for local transport and household storage. Window panes will have also been produced, alongside the vessels. The wasters used for mosaic stones cannot be unreservedly assigned to the local glass workers.

The second part of this work concerning the topographical distribution of the colony's glass finds includes analyses of the recorded finds in the urban area and the spectrum of vessels found in selected quarters at different times. It was attempted to identify correlations of district-types with the wares employed by their residents. The analyses were also intended to isolate any relationships associating social status with the use of glass, as well as any changes in life style. Plotting the distribution of those glass vessel types which belonged to the characteristic wares employed during specific periods aimed at attempting to reconstruct the development of the settlement history of the ancient city. These analyses were based on earlier excavations in the various quarters and building units where the glass finds could be identified according to type and period. The resulting estimates of the proportions of the various glass vessels ordered by form and function made it possible to compare the quarters investigated with the results from other sites published by S. M. E. van Lith and K. Randsborg (1985).

Examining the distribution of the vessels from dated contexts in the topographical units revealed that glass finds were more frequent from units dating to the first and third centuries, while deposits dating to the second and fourth centuries produced less glass. In view of the history of the development of the settlement, the archaic nature of the excavations, and the eclectic methods of registration, it had to be admitted that large proportions of the finds did not necessarily signify a correspondingly high level of usage in antiquity. The quantities of glass were in fact dependent upon the survival-rate of finds.

Not very much glass was found in the public areas of the city, with the exception of the baths. Aside from the specific nature of such areas, it must be stated that the find scarcity in Augusta Raurica can be traced back to the methods of excavation common in earlier days, and to the limited extent of the areas opened up. On the other hand, the wealth of glass apparent in the residential and commercial quarters of the first century can be attributed to the wooden buildings where the finds were better protected. At the same time, fill from the numerous first century construction projects was both rich in finds and unusually frequently preserved. The scarcity of finds in the following century is due at least in part to the predominance of stone buildings, and probably also to a well organized urban refuse disposal system. That so many finds from the third century have been recorded is due to topographical conditions favouring the preservation of the destruction débris of the late third century. The comparative rarity of finds dating to the fourth century will have been partially due to the contraction of the settlement in Late Antiquity, and partially to local construction projects, which, even up to the present day, particularly damage the surface layers dating to this period.

Aside from the quantity and quality of glass objects, it was impossible to establish any significant differences between the glass vessels employed in the residential and commercial areas. Not unexpectedly, aryballoi claim first place in the baths, while elsewhere in the city, tableware dominates the spectrum in all the relevant periods. The relative proportions of the vessels classified in groups according to form and function in the various periods are very similar to the proportions found at other sites and may thus be regarded as representative for settlements in the western provinces.

In the first century A.D., tableware is by far the most important group, and glass bowls the most important among these. Although the glass tableware of the second century still accounts for the largest single genre, there is a shift in favour of storage containers. It was possible to remark here that the proportion of storage vessels in the more modest residential quarters was higher than that established in the houses of their betters. As it cannot be assumed that socially lower classes will have used more glass vessels than their more prosperous neighbours, it is logical to deduce that the cheaper glass containers - square bottles for the most part - will have also found their way onto the table, in place of dearer glass tableware. In the third century the proportion of storage vessels contracted. Drinking cups and beakers formed the largest single group on the tables of the city during the third century, and in the following century, they completely dominate the tablewares. Storage wares have vanished. The composition of the tablewares shows that in the course of the history of the settlement, the proportion of glass bowls diminishes while glass cups and beakers become increasingly popular. The drop in the proportion of glass bowls, which could be used for many different purposes, and the increased popularity of the (single function) drinking vessels during the late period can be directly associated with the changing drinking habits, while also accomodating the technical development of the glass maker's trade.

In trying to answer the question of just how far the spectrum of glass finds can be used as an indication of social status at Augusta Raurica, mosaic and colourless glass with wheel-cut decoration were selected as representatives of the dearer tableware and their distribution plotted and compared with the known differences in the various quarters. This confirmed that most of the glass came from the residential quarters and those of the craftsmen in the Upper City. It is thus remarkable that the wealth of finds from the houses of the middle class contrasted sharply with the real rarity of finds in the luxurious residences of the upper class. This surprizing result can hardly be used as an indication that the socially well off disdained the use of tableware glass, and the quantity must be interpreted in terms of varying attitudes towards rubbish disposal: the more extravagantly equipped stone buildings generally supply less finds than their more modest counterparts. In those quarters on the city limits dominated by tradesmen's workshops where only the least priviledged will have dwelled, there is also a paucity of glass, so that the quantity of glass finds alone cannot be employed as an indication concerning a specific social class. The interpretion of this must take into account the way in which the objects came into the ground, and the way in which they were excavated and registered, as well as the proportion of expensive tableware glass in terms of the total number of glass objects in a specific quarter.

In order to see whether other criteria could be used to differentiate the social make-up of the various quarters, window glass was also employed. The ratio of recorded window panes to glass vessels was used as an indication of the degree of comfort with which the various buildings were provided. Window glass was disproportionately well represented in the posher quarters of the Upper City. Although it was also used in the buildings of those quarters where craftsmen and traders lived and worked, on average it forms a smaller proportion of the total. It was thus possible to show that a high proportion of window class could serve to confirm the presence of buildings and quarters housing the better off. That window glass was, however, not alone indicative of luxury was shown by the concentrations of window glass finds in the tradsmen's districts of the Lower Town. Here, where the glass makers had factories, it is permissible to suggest that the unusual quantities of glass finds will have been related to the local production.

Plotting the glass vessel index forms in order to throw some light on the historical development of the site confirmed the results of earlier efforts: during the early first century A.D., the settlement of Augusta Raurica was concentrated on the central quarters of the Upper City, to the the South of the Theatre where the settlement originated. From the middle of the first century, the settled area was gradually enlarged to the South, and to the North, probably attaining it's greatest extent before the end of the first century. During the second century and the first half of the following one, the city's size remained more or less constant. In the third quarter of the third century, the settled area was virtually restricted to the city limits as a result of the partial destruction of the city centre. In the later third century and during the fourth century, the settlement gradually shifted to the Lower Town with the Castrum Rauracense, and the land about it. Some find spots in the Upper City hint that some kind of settlement did continue there.

The third part of the work discusses the glass finds from the tombs of Augst, Kaiseraugst and Pratteln, where the analysis reveals that glass grave goods are found in virtually all the tombs dating from the first to the middle of the second century. The deceased usually had at least one vessel placed in the tomb, and to find several in the same tomb is not rare. Unguentaria, originally containing fragrant essences, are the most common; some of the bottles were only placed in the tomb after the cremation. Some 20% of the vessels were ordinary tableware. Comparing the tombs of Augusta Raurica with interments in rural settlements of northwest Switzerland, it was established that tableware was proportionally more common in the latter than in the colony. This confirmed that rural tomb inventories provide a better picture of everyday tableware than do the inventories of tombs associated with urban and military settlements, where the grave goods of the "abstract" cremation-rite of the South prevailed.

In the late third and during the fourth century, the dead were accompanied with vessels containing food and drink, as well as decorative items of apparel and jewellery. In contrast to the habits of the preceding two and a half centuries, the glass vessels of Late Antiquity are primarily drinking vessels. Comparing the Late Roman tomb inventories with those of the cemeteries of the Rhine Valley reveals that the glass vessels of the tombs in Pratteln (Canton Baselland, Switzerland), Augst and Kaiseraugst correspond precisely to those of tombs related to settlements with a significant military component: the tombs contain tableware for the most part, dominated by drinking vessels, dining ware being far less significant. Unguentaria account for only about a quarter of the glass ware.

Comparing the Late Roman glass objects from the cemeteries with those of the settlement it was attempted to ascertain which residents of different parts of the city and the castrum buried their dead in the various cemeteries. The proportions of the forms in the northwest cemetery was identical to the spectrum in the Lower Town and the Castrum Rauracense, while the northeast cemetery corresponds to the spectrum present in the Upper City. These results suggest that the residents of the fortress buried their dead during the early period in the northwest cemetery, while the remaining population of the Upper City took leave of theirs in the northeast cemetery. Many questions concerning the population and settlement structure of the later periods of Augst and Kaiseraugst cannot however be answered using the glass finds alone.

In this work, many aspects of the glass objects from Augst and Kaiseraugst were mentioned, which in themselves warrant more intensive study, but it was impossible to deal adequately with every question encountered. One of the most important tasks for the future is the publication of the finds and archaeological contexts of the two glass factories in the Lower Town, which would surely lead to an enhanced understanding of glass production itself and its local small scale organization. The glass objects themselves demand a more exhaustive examination, in a larger geographical context, accompanied by detailed material analyses in chemical terms. Such studies will be able to suggest answers to the essential questions of origin and trade. Among the most important groups here would be the wheel-cut vessels, square bottles, cylindrical cups, and hemispherical cups, and conical beakers of the late period. An important contribution to our understanding of social and economic history would be an intensive examination of the complete inventories of glass objects and pottery in selected quarters of the city. Finds from new excavations where the material is not registered selectively as was done earlier would be a bonus here.

Although certain aspects of Roman glass, such as the types and their general chronological positions are relatively well understood, research in glass studies is still in its infancy, in terms of sources, function and social context. Future work based on modern excavations will permit the formulation of more detailed research projects and bring us closer to the solutions of many unanswered questions. The publication of a catalogue of glass vessels from Augst and Kaiseraugst is a basis, while the study should provide a discussion and encourage further research.