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Roman glass tesserae
Neatly-knapped but irregular cubes of opaque royal blue glass, none bearing any trace of cementing compound, nor any wear through use. Some pieces are 'milky' and many have air-bubbles.
Writing in 1993, David Zienkiewicz noted that these glass cubes are quite common elsewhere in Britain. They are invariably quite unworn (like this example) and are never found with other colours. This suggests that they were never intended to be used as tesserae pieces for making floor-mosaics, and that it is more likely they were the raw material for enamelling or making beads.
Source: Excavations in the 'Scamnum Tribunorum' at Caerleon: The Legionary Museum Site 1983-5 by D Ziennkiewicz. Britannia Volume 24, 1993.
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Site Name: Museum Garden, Caerleon
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