ROMAN AND BYZANTINE GLASS WORKSHOPS IN CARIA: An Assessment of New Finds and Evidence

Publications on Carian glass constitute only a small portion of all publications about ancient Anatolian glass. Glassworks mostly find their place within general publications and in the frame of all excavation findings; publications that focus exclusively on glass are rare. Nevertheless, the limited research that has been conducted on glass, excavation reports, and publications on the glass held in collections of Carian museums do offer valuable information about the importance of Caria in the history of glass. Because glass workshops were small centers whose detection and identification in the archaeological record is difficult, key factors that may help determine the importance of Carian innovation in the history of glass still elude researchers. It is significant that, while very few glass workshops have been identified across Anatolia, a remarkable number of these centers are in Caria. This paper analyzes a wide variety of evidence concerning glass workshops in Caria to demonstrate the importance of Caria in the history of glass.