Irena Lazar

An oil lamp from Slovenia depicting a Roman

glass furnace

Irena Lazar UDK: 904:748(497.12 Kopar)”00/01”

SI, 3000 Celje Izvorni znanstveni rad
Pokrajinski muzej Celje Primljeno: 14. 6. 2006.
Muzejski trg 1 Prihvaćeno: 21. 6. 2006.
irena.lazar@guest.arnes.si

In 2002 and 2003 at Spodnje Škofije near Koper (Slovenia) at an archeological site named Križišče
(‘Crossroad’) part of a Roman burial ground beside the Roman road (via Flavia Tergeste-Pola) was
investigated. One of the cremation graves included an oil lamp with a representation of a glass
furnace.
The relief is showing a glass furnace and to the left and right of it a glass-worker, one of whom is
engaged in blowing while the other assists at the furnace. In the centre is the furnace, divided into
two sections. The lower one serves as stoke hole (or stoking compartment); the upper section of the
furnace has a larger aperture and served as the glassblower’s working port. The oil lamp from the
grave in Slovenia is by far the best preserved of all three lamps (Asseria, Ferrara, Spodnje Škofije). The
relief is very well executed, crisp and not damaged. Probably we may assume that the lamps from
Asseria and Spodnje Škofije were made in the same mould, since their individual details are identical.
The grave with the oil lamp from Slovenia can be placed in the second half of the 1st century or
perhaps also at the beginning of the 2nd century.

Key words: Roman period, Slovenia, glass-working, oil lamp, glass furnace, glass blowing

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 Irena Lazar
An oil lamp from Slovenia depicting a Roman glass furnace

Fig 1.
Map of Slovenia in the Roman period with the site Spodnje Škofije near Koper
(map prepared by Mateja Belak, ZRC SAZU).

In 2002 and 2003, a rescue excavation along the route of the 27 cremated and 16 skeleton burials and 6 graves of newborn
future motorway was carried out at Spodnje Škofije near Koper babies were researched. They were dated to the period from the
(Slovenia), at an archeological site named Križišče (‘Crossroad’). 1st to the 5th century. The ground-plan arrangement could not be
Part of a Roman burial ground beside the Roman road (via Flavia observed, but the majority of the graves were of the cremation
Aquileia-Tergeste-Pola), which ran in a north - south direction, was type. The predominant form was the so-called bustum type of
investigated.1 In the northern part of the necropolis two roads burial - the cremation of the deceased directly above the burial pit.
connected with the above-mentioned road, one leading towards Judging by the quality of the grave goods, some socially well-
a Roman villa in the immediate vicinity (Školarice on the hill situated individuals were buried here. The position of the northern
Bečajevec), and the other towards the Roman settlement of Srmin grave plot beside the road turning off towards the villa indicates
(Fig. 1). The main road was still in use in the late Roman period. that it was possibly the property of the owner of the villa in the
The necropolis was investigated along the eastern edge of the earlier phase (1st century).
road. It had paved grave plots, and was bordered on the eastern One of the cremation graves in the above-mentioned grave
side by a 2-metre-high well-built wall of sandstone. Three grave plot (grave no. 152) is particularly interesting3. The grave goods
plots were investigated. The most northerly one had a square included an excellently preserved clay oil lamp (Fig. 2) with a
shape (16 x 16 m) and lay exactly where the side road branched representation of a glass furnace and glass workers beside it.4 The
off towards the nearby Školarice villa.2 The graves on these plots motif is the same as that on the only two other oil lamps depicting
differ in the manner of burial and in their form. On the three plots

3 I would like to thank Matjaž Novšak (Arhej d.o.o.) and Alfred Trenz (ZVKDS
1 Novšak 2003a, p. 165; Šašel 1975, p. 75. OE Piran) for permission to publish this find.
2 Novšak 2003b, p. 258. 4 Lazar 2004, p. 28, Fig. 15, cat. no. 25; 2005, p. 17-19.

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227-234 An oil lamp from Slovenia depicting a Roman glass furnace

Fig. 2. Fig. 3a. Fig. 3b.

Photo of the lamp from Spodnje Škofije near Koper (photo: Tomaž Lauko). Drawing of the lamp, scale 1: 1 (drawing: Jerneja Kobe). Drawing of the lamp, scale 1: 1 (drawing: Jerneja Kobe).

a glass furnace known so far - from Asseria (modern Podgrađe or door appears a V-shaped object turned upside down. Probably The right-hand figure sits on a low stool beside the furnace, squatting next to the furnace. He has a short object in his hands,
near Benkovac, in Croatia) and vicinity of Ferrara (in Italy).5 we should not interpret this as the melting pot for glass. Possibly dressed in a short tunic, the folds of which are emphasized placed upright. It is not a blowpipe. Could it be a “pointed” bellows
The new oil lamp, of grey burnt clay is 11.3 cm long, 8.1 cm this schematic sketch draws attention to the working port’s with deep incisions. He is barefoot, as can be seen by the short of the vertical type depicted on several Roman monuments
wide and 2.6 cm high. It belongs to the group of so-called relief oil small door or fireguard (perhaps no more than a pot shard, as slanting incisions at the front of his foot. On the floor by his foot depicting a smith at work?10 In that case, the triangular shelf seen
lamps of the Loeschke type IV, with a rounded nozzle and volutes suggested by Stern)7 which closed the working port while work lie three objects, which can probably be interpreted as raw glass on the left side of the furnace probably represents the support
on either side (Fig. 3). The disk is decorated with a relief showing was in progress, so as to maintain the temperature inside the and/or waste material formed during his work. The person’s head for the belows.11 However, according to the last experiments on
a glass furnace and to the left and right of it a glass-worker, one furnace and at the same time protect the glassblower while he is raised, his lips pushed forward and ready to blow into the Roman glass blowing by Mark Taylor and David Hill the bellows
8
of whom is engaged in blowing (a glass vessel) while the other was working at the furnace . On the left and right in the upper pipe which he holds inclined in front of him. This is elliptically are not necessary. The desired heat in the furnace for melting
assists at the furnace. The representation is excellent and the oil part two small shelves or working surfaces are shown, the right- broadened at the end and draws attention to the oblong, rather and blowing can be achieved with proper stocking.12 Therefore it
lamp itself very well preserved, so that many details which are hand one rests on a leg or stand. The right one can be interpreted big object that the glass-worker is blowing. If we take into account is also possible, that the assistant on the left side of the furnace
6
blurred in the other two lamps can be seen clearly . In the centre as the working surface or slab on which the glassblower rolled a the proportions of the glassblower and his tool, the blowpipe is is only checking the finished object, which he took out of the
is the furnace, divided into two sections. The lower one obviously glass post before blowing and marvered the glass during his work less than a metre long and looks quite robust. We can also observe annealing oven.
serves as stoke hole (or stoking compartment); the opening is above the furnace Undulating lines incised in the upper left part that something is attached to the underside of the pipe. If the There is no inscription or name on the upper part of the disk,
hatched diagonally. The upper section of the furnace has a larger above the furnace indicate the heat emanating from the furnace. blowpipe is not made of metal, but of clay, as Stern suggests,9 the as on the oil lamp from Asseria.13 A letter ‘A’ is scratched on the
aperture, of semi-circular form. This was used for scooping molten long narrow strip tied to it may have served to reinforce the pipe underside of the lamp. May we perhaps associate this with the
glass out of the melting pot and served as the glassblower’s while the glassblower blew a large, heavy object (pers. com. E. M. name Athenio on the disk of the oil lamp from Benkovac?
working port. Inside the relief line surrounding the upper opening Stern). The round hole below the pipe is the oil lamp’ air vent.
The figure on the left side of the furnace, probably the master
7 Stern 2004, p. 83.
craftman’s assistant is less precisely drawn. He seems to be
8 At some medieval furnaces remains of pottery frames have been
excavated; according to the excavator they served to change the size 10 Weisgerber, Roden 1985, p. 6-10, Figs. 10-13.
5 Abramić 1959, p. 149-151; Baldoni 1987, p. 22-29. of the working port (information E. M. Stern; Steppuhn 2001, p. 40, Abb. 11 Suggested by E. M. Stern; Weisgerber, Roden 1985, p. 9.
6 For discussion and remarks about the relief on the lamp I’m indebted to 4). They can be compared to pottery frames discovered at Avenches 12 pers. comm. D. hill and M. Taylor; www.romanglassmakers.co.uk
Dr. E. M. Stern. (Amrein 2001, p. 88, Pl. 20: 74). 9 Stern 1999, p. 446. 13 Abramić 1959, p. 150, Taf. 27; Buljević 2005, p. 100, sl. 8.

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227-234 An oil lamp from Slovenia depicting a Roman glass furnace

The oil lamp from the grave in Slovenia is by far the best finds20 - glass workshops did operate as early as the 1st century. Literature: Lazar 2004 Stern 2004
preserved of all three lamps. The relief is very well executed, crisp Moreover, the town was a strong commercial centre and played I. Lazar, Odsevi davnine - Antično E. M. Stern, The Glass Banausoi
and not damaged. The relief scenes on the lamps differ only in an important role in trade links of the northern Adriatic region and Amrein 2001 steklo v Sloveniji / Spiegelungen of Sidon and Rome, u: M. Beretta
the placement of the air vent, which is on the lower side of the the south-eastern Alps in the first centuries AD, including trade in H. Amrein, L’atelier de verriers der Vorzeit - Antikes Glas in (ed.) When glass matters, Firenze:
disk in the find from Benkovac, while on the lamps from Ferrara glass and glass products. d’Avenches. L’artisanat du verre Slowenien, u: I. Lazar (ur.) Rimljani Istituto e museo di storie della
and Slovenia the small hole is below the blowpipe, on the right au millieu du 1er siècle après J.-C., - steklo, glina, kamen / Die Römer scienza, Firenze 2004, 77-120.
side of the furnace. Probably we may assume that at least the two Translation: Margaret Davis Aventicum, vol. XI, Lausanne: - Glas, Ton, Stein, exhibition
lamps from Benkovac and Spodnje Škofije were made in the same Cahiers d’archéologie romande, catalogue, Celje: Pokrajinski Weisgerber, Roden 1985
mould, since their individual details are identical. The relief on the Lausanne, 2001. muzej, Celje-Ptuj-Maribor 2004, G. Weisgerber, C. Roden,
lamp from Ferrara is unfortunately too worn for all the details to 11-81. Römische Schmiedeszenen und
be compared. Abramić 1959 ihre Gebläse, Der Anschnitt,
The grave in which the lamp was found produced also some M. Abramić, Eine römische Lampe Lazar 2005 Zeitschrift für Kunst und Kultur
glass objects. Fragments of four balsamaria were discovered14. mit Darstellung des Glasblasens, I. Lazar, An oil lamp depicting im Bergbau 37/1, 1985, 2-21.
They were blown from glass of a slightly bluish hue, well Bonner Jahrbücher 159, Bonn a Roman glass furnace - a new
produced, without air bubbles, and with relatively thick walls. 1959, 149-151. find from Slovenia, Bulletin
Of three balsamaria only a slightly rounded bases are preserved. Instrumentum 22, Montagnac
Their forms agree with those of tubular-shaped balsamaria (the Baldoni 1987 2005, 17-19.
variant 8.6.1.)15 that were characteristic of the 1st and the first half D. Baldoni, Una lucerna romana
of the 2nd century.16 One balsamarium was preserved up to half its con raffigurazione di officina Novšak 2003a
height. It is a tubular balsamarium with a constriction at the base vetraria: alcune considerazioni M. Novšak, Križišče pri Spodnjih
of the neck, a type which can be classified among the Slovenian sulla lavorazione del vetro soffiato Škofijah, u: Zemlja pod vašimi
material as the 8.6.2. variant. These occur from the second half of nell’antichita, Journal of Glass nogami. Arheologija na
the 1st century onwards.17 Studies 29, Corning, New York avtocestah Slovenije, Ljubljana:
There were almost no other grave goods, though we 1987, 22-29. Zavod za varstvo kulturne
should mention some iron fragments and two coins, one of dediščine Slovenije, Ljubljana
which was badly damaged and the other a rather worn bronze Buljević 2005 2003, 165-166.
18
coin of Claudius (41-54) . The bone (ash grave) remains were Z. Buljević, Tragovi staklara u
unfortunately too scanty for analysis. Considering the composition rimskoj provinciji Dalmaciji, Novšak 2003b
and modest extent of the grave goods, this grave can be placed in Vjesnik za arheologiju i povijest M. Novšak, Školarice pri
the second half of the 1st century or perhaps also at the beginning dalmatinsku 98, Split 2005, Spodnjih Škofijah, u: Zemlja pod
of the 2nd century. 93-106. vašimi nogami. Arheologija na
Who can the grave be connected with? Was the deceased avtocestah Slovenije, Ljubljana:
in some way linked with the glasswork trade (a glass-blower, Calvi 1968 Zavod za varstvo kulturne
perhaps a glassware merchant) or is the representation on the C. Calvi, Vetri romani di dediščine Slovenije, Ljubljana
oil lamp purely coincidental? Is it possible that in the nearby villa Aquileia, Aquileia: Publicazione 2003a, 258-259.
(Školarice) a glass workshop operated as well as other branches dell’Associazione nazionale per
of business? The excavations carried out so far have not provided Aquileia 7, Aquileia 1968. Steppuhn 2001
data which would support such a hypothesis. Maybe the oil lamp P. Steppuhn, Eine Glashütte
laid in the grave was only an expression of interest in craft which Lazar 2003a der Zeit um 1450 auf dem
in the course of the 1st century spread like wildfire throughout I. Lazar, Rimsko steklo Slovenije Taunuskamm, Denkmalpflege
the whole empire due to the newly discovered technique of free / The Roman Glass of Slovenia, und Kulturgeschichte 1/2001,
blowing. Opera Instituti Archaeologici Bohum 2001, 38-43.
At present there is no evidence for local Roman glass Sloveniae 7, Ljubljana: ZRC
production from the rather limited coastal region of present-day SAZU, Ljubljana 2003. Šašel 1975
Slovenia.19 But not far away lies Aquileia, where - to judge by the J. Šašel, Rimske ceste v Sloveniji, u:
Lazar 2003b Arheološka najdišča Slovenije,
I. Lazar, State of Research Ljubljana 1975, 74-99.
into Roman Glass production
14 Lazar 2005, p. 18, Fig. 4. in Slovenia, Annales de Stern 1999
15 Lazar 2003a, p. 175.
l’Association Internationale E. Marianne Stern, Roman
16 Idem, p. 196.
pour l’Histoire du Verre 15, glassblowing in a cultural
17 Idem, p. 176, 195.
18 The coins were determined by Alenka Miškec from the Numismatic Nottingham 2003, 78-81. context, American Journal of
Cabinet of the National Museum of Slovenia, Ljubljana. Archaeology 103/3, Boston
19 Lazar 2003b, p. 78. 20 Stern 2004, p. 116, bilj. 56; Calvi 1968. 1999, 441-484.

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Sažetak

Uljanica iz Slovenije s prikazom rimske staklarske peći

Ključne riječi: rimsko doba, Slovenija, staklarstvo, uljanica, staklarska peć, puhanje stakla

Tijekom 2002. i 2003. godine izvršena su zaštitna istraživanja na dionici buduće autoceste pokraj
Kopra u Sloveniji (sl. 1). Na nalazištu Raskršće u Spodnjim Škofijama otkriven je dio rimskoga groblja,
koje se rasprostiralo uz rimsku via publica (via Flavia Aquileia-Tergeste-Pola). Jedan od paljevinskih
grobova (broj 152) sadržavao je izvrsno očuvanu glinenu uljanicu (sl. 2, 3) s reljefom staklarske peći.
Motiv je isti kao na dvije dosad poznate uljanice iz rimskog razdoblja iz Asserije u Dalmaciji (Benkovac)
i Ferrare u Italiji.
Novootkrivena uljanica ima reljef na disku s prikazom staklarske peći i dva staklara, desno i lijevo
do nje. Prvi je zauzet puhanjem stakla, dok mu drugi pomaže pokraj peći. Reljef je vrsno izrađen i
očuvan u cijelosti, tako da možemo proučavati mnoge detalje koji zbog oštećenja na preostale dvije
uljanice nisu vidljivi.
U središtu je staklarska peć podijeljena u dva dijela. Donji je dio služio kao ložište; otvor je
dijagonalno iscrtan. Gornji dio ima veći otvor polukružnog oblika. Služio je kao radno mjesto staklara,
za vađenje istaljenog stakla iz peći i njegovu daljnju obradu. Unutar reljefne linije, koja ocrtava otvor
ili vrata peći, opaža se trokutasti objekt postavljen naopako. Moguće je da shematski prikazuje vrata
peći ili zaslon, koji su zatvarali peć tijekom rada ili puhanja. Lijevo i desno na gornjem dijelu peći
vidljive su dvije male police ili radne površine. Desna bi mogla biti interpretirana kao radna površina
staklara tijekom puhanja, na kojoj se povremeno valjao staklo tijekom različitih stupnjeva obrade.
Desna figura sjedi na niskom stolu pokraj peći odjenuta u kratku tuniku. Nema cipela, bosa je, što se
primjećuje prema kratkim zarezima na prednjem dijelu noge. Na tlu leže tri predmeta, koje možemo
tumačiti kao sirovo staklo ili otpad od puhanja nastao tijekom rada. Osoba ima uzdignutu glavu i
sprema se puhati u cijev za puhanje koju drži ispred sebe. Cijev je na završetku eliptično proširena i
stječe se dojam da staklar puše prilično veliku posudu (bocu). Cijev je duga manje od metra i izgleda
prilično robusno. Zamjećuje se da je na donji dio cijevi vjerojatno nešto pričvršćeno. Ako cijev nije
metalna već je izrađena od gline, ovaj dodatak na donjem dijelu mogao je služiti kao učvršćenje cijevi
tijekom puhanja velikog i teškog predmeta.
Lijeva figura čuči pokraj peći. U ruci drži kratak predmet postavljen okomito. Možda je to mijeh za
puhanje vertikalnog tipa ili pak pomoćnik samo provjerava već izrađeni predmet uzet iz dijela peći za
hlađenje napuhanih posuda.
Uljanica iz groba u Sloveniji najbolje je očuvana od svih triju dosad poznatih uljanica s reljefom
staklarske peći. Prema pojedinim istovjetnim detaljima možemo pretpostaviti da su uljanice iz Asserije
i Slovenije izrađene u istom kalupu. Sudeći po sastavu i skromnim prilozima u ovom grobu, mogli
bismo ga datirati u drugu polovicu 1. ili na početak 2. stoljeća.

Prijevod: Irena Lazar i Zdravka Hincak

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