L'épave Ouest-Embiez 1, Var : le commerce maritime du verre brut et manufacturé en Méditerranée occidentale dans l'Antiquité

Abstract

The production of glass implies two different steps : the making of actual glass and the manufacture of objects. It is sold in two forms : blocks of raw glass or finished products. The transit of this material has been poorly illustrated by archaeological evidence but was recently revealed through the discovery of the «Ouest Embiez 1» shipwreck. To this date, it is the only roman ship mainly filled with glass products (15 to 18 tons of raw glass, about 1800 vessels and two types of window glass). The loading dates from the end of the second century or beginning of the third century AD and it gives us prime information. The main results of this study are put in perspective with a more gênerai context of the economic history of glass in Antiquity.