Forest Glass - History

History

While under Roman rule the raw materials and manufacturing methods of Northern Europe were those of the Roman tradition, using the mineral Natron. For several centuries after the fall of the Roman Empire around 450 AD, recycling of Roman glass formed the major part of the local industry and glass-making skills declined. With the rise of the Carolingian Empire in NW Europe around 800 AD increasing demand for glass and problems with supply of traditional raw materials, together with an imperial desire to emulate the more sophisticated culture of the Islamic Empire (which was producing high quality glass) led to experimentation with new raw materials and the development of a totally new glass-making technology. Archaeologically, numerous medieval glass-houses have been found in western and central Europe, particularly in the mountains of Germany. Due to later reuse of the building material, most are poorly preserved, but there is evidence that both glass-making and working were often done on the same site.