2,000-Year-Old Roman Glass Bowl Unearthed “Like New”

 Archeologists Unearth a Roman Glass Bowl Dating Back 2,000 Years in Pristine Condition

So I find I am struggling to accept what my eyes tell me here! I found this trawling around the web na d this astonished me and I so want it to be true. That someone should have dug up a 2,000 year old work of glass made by the Romans! The more I've looked at it the less I believe it! Can it really be true? It looks for all the world like something you might have found in Woolworths in the fifties for pity's sake! The account of its discovery is below . . . . . . 

Sitting a few miles from the German border, Nijmegen is the oldest city in The Netherlands, and after a recent archeological dig, it’s also the site that unearthed a stunningly preserved bowl made of blue glass. The pristine finding, which is estimated to be about 2,000 years old, is from the agricultural Bataven settlement that once populated the region. Featuring diagonal ridges, the translucent vessel was made by pouring molten glass into a mold, sculpting the stripes while the material was liquid, and using metal oxide to produce the vibrant blue. Archeologists uncovered it without a single chip or crack.

Around the time the bowl was procured, Nijmegen was an early Roman military camp and later, the first to be named a municipium, or Roman city. Archeologist Pepjin van de Geer, who led the excavation, told the De Stentor that while it’s possible the vessel was created in a German glass workshop in cities like Cologne or Xanten, it’s also likely that the Batavians traded cattle hides to procure it. In addition to the piece, van de Geer’s team has also uncovered human bones, pitchers, cups, and other precious goods like jewelry, which indicates the site was once a burial ground. (via Hyperallergic)

All images courtesy Marieke Mom, shared without permission so if you don't want me to just get in touch and I will take them down