THE PAST OF GLASS

Evening Star, Issue 22798, 5 November 1937, Page 10

THE PAST OF GLASS

KNOWN TO THE GREEKS EXCAVATIONS PROVE THEORY Glass was not produced in England until the time of Charles 11., and a famous London glassmaker (George Ilavenscroft) was chiefly responsible for its invention. According to the Roman historian, Pliny, glass was accidentally discovered by some Phoenician merchants who were shipwrecked on tho coast of Syria. They aro said to have set up their cooking pots ou blocks of natron (carbonate of soda), and, when tho heat of the fire caused the fusion of tho soda with the sand of the seashore, a glass-like material was formed, which the merchants afterwards found among tho ashes. The soda and sand, however, were not sufficient to make durable glass, and eventually, powdered magnesian limestone was added by the Romans, who were taught glassmaking by Hie Greeks. In 1879, during some excavations in Cyprus, a beautiful Greek glass 2,500 years old was found. The glass is of a delicate pink colour in a shape similar to some types of modem glass. The ordinary tumbler was another common typo of glass used in ancient times, and tho Romans used to decorate their, tumblers with engravings and inscriptions.