We are happy to invite you to the online lecture by prof. Andrew Shortland (Cranfield University) on  “Ancient Egyptian Glass: Innovation, Provenance and Technology”.

Glass is first found in the archaeological record of Egypt in the third millennium BC, but regular finds do not occur until the middle of the second millennium. There has been much debate as to whether this glass was locally produced in Egypt, or whether the glass was imported from the Near East. Similarly, the manufacturing technology has been extensively studied, aided by rare finds of glassmaking/working sites. The paper will explore the concepts of innovation, provenance and production/technology and their inter-relationships using illustrations drawn from the study of early glass, especially in Egypt. It will show that the relationship is complex and that it is necessary to understand all three in order to satisfactorily answer pertinent archaeological and historical questions.

The seminar will take place on 17 September 2020, at 5 pm (Brussels CEST) – 4 pm British Summer Time.

This seminar is the first in a series entitled “Provenance and technology – separate research fields or intimately entangled? Current perspectives on inorganic materials analysis in EMME archaeology”.

The series is organized by the Centre for Archaeological Sciences at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven as part of   ‘Promised: Promoting Archaeological Science in the eastern Mediterranean’, a H2020 Twinning project (Grant No 811068).

The seminar is open to all, but places are limited and registration is mandatory.

To register, please send an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

An invitation link will be sent to you on the day of the seminar.

Please feel free to circulate this invitation to interested colleagues and students.

We hope you can join us and look forward to welcoming you!