Shortlands Lane, Cullompton, Devon: Scientific Examination of the Window Glass
Author(s): Dominic Ford, Brice Girbal
Twenty four fragments of window glass from an early to mid 18th-century pit at Shortlands Lane, Cullompton, Devon were analysed. A visual examination identified four different coloured glasses while the chemical compositions highlighted three major groups. Six of the fragments (mainly the darker greens) were HLLA glass probably produced between AD1570 and AD1700. Five fragments (pale blue-green in colour) were shown to be later kelp glass probably produced between AD1700 and AD1830 while the other thirteen fragments proved to be more of an anomaly with compositions in between the HLLA and kelp glass. The context (early to mid 18th-century pit) in which the glass was found would place the glass around the HLLA – kelp time boundary (circa AD1700) and combined with their compositions would suggest that these fragments represented the use of a mixture of seaweed and plant ash. Another possibility would be that they were not manufactured in Britain.
- Report Number:
- 79/2010
- Series:
- Research Department Reports
- Pages:
- 15
- Keywords:
- Glass
