Glassworking at Barking Abbey: the characterization of an Anglo-Saxon industry

Excavations conducted between 1985 and 1990 at the site of Barking Abbey yielded extensive evidence of the earliest Anglo-Saxon monastery, founded in the seventh century and subsequently sacked by the Vikings in AD 870. One of the most noteworthy finds was the base of a glass furnace, along with pits containing glass-melting crucibles and working waste. This paper presents the first comprehensive analysis of this material. The circular furnace was constructed from clay-bonded Roman tiles and employed both forced air at the base and apertures in its superstructure to regulate its operating temperature. A recalibration of the original archaeomagnetic dates shows that the furnace was operating between c. AD 730–845 and belongs to the earliest phase of monastic occupation of the site. Crucible and waste finds demonstrate that glasses were being remelted to produce decorative glass vessels and complex millefiori canes for use in high-quality metalwork. Consequently, the evidence for glassworking presented here represents the most important assemblage found to date from this period in Britain. It provides unique insight into craftworking in a Middle Saxon monastery and reshapes our understanding of the industry nationally.