Merovingian glassware is not very present in the south-west of France
Eight archaeologically complete objects were discovered (two in Oloron-Sainte-Marie, one in Jau-Dignac-et-Loirac, one in Sergeac and four in Jonzac) between 2004 and 2010.
It is necessary to recall the older discoveries of bowls made at Bazas and at Tocane-Saint-Apre. These two objects are respectively in the Bazas Museum and the Périgord Museum in the Maap collection (Périgueux).
Other ancient excavations have brought to light glasses from this period: a bottle at Saint-Laurent-des-Bâtons in 1977 of type T 20 and a bowl at Argenton in 1877 of type T 90 (Coureau 1876). All that remains of their presence is a photo for one and a drawing for the other. Other fragments of bowls were discovered in Bordeaux during the excavations of Place Camille Julian (Foy, Hochuli-Gysel 1995).
These glassworks, all discovered in sarcophagi,
belong to seven different types of the classification
by J.-Y. Feyeux (Feyeux 2003):
T 20, T 41, T 55.3, T 57, T 60, T 90 and T 91.
Flacon de type T 20
During agricultural work in Saint-Laurent-des-Bâtons near the chapel of Saint-Maurice, Merovingian sarcophagi were discovered in October 1977, six of which were excavated. Bronze buckles, a ring, handcrafted ceramic and a glass bottle were found.
The bottle is 10.9 cm high and it is greenish in color. It is dated to the 5th/6th centuries. This object has disappeared and there is currently only one photo left in the 1979 Gallia magazine (volume 37, fascicle 2).
Gobelet à pied à ouverture rebrûlée de type T 41
The excavations that took place from June to July 2004, near the cathedral of Oloron Sainte-Marie, brought to light a complete glass. It is a blown/molded stemmed glass with 16 low relief helical ribs facing right. It is made with a single gob of light olive green color. The total height of the glass is 13.5 cm and its general shape is asymmetrical: the opening is more flared on one side and the foot is slightly offset from the axis of the container. The opening diameter is 8.3 cm. The lip, straight slightly turned inwards, is thickened by heating over a flame.
Nets of white glass are rolled up on the upper part of the body as well as on the second lower third. The top cords are no longer present, but there is their negative. The foot, with a diameter of 4 cm, is hemmed by pushing back the parison and its top forms a cone. The foot is connected to the belly by a small leg of 1 cm. This goblet can be compared to the one found in Sablonnières (Aisne) and which is currently in the Museum of Saint-Germain-en-Laye (Feyeux 2003, n° 143). This type of glass dates from the 5th/6th centuries.
Gobelet apode moulé de type T 55.3
Discovered in 1841 by Doctor Moreau in a cemetery in Tocane-Saint-Apre, in the Dordogne, this goblet was found in a stone burial at the level of the shoulders of a skeleton still wearing long hair. This tomb contained other furniture: a socketed spearhead, a knife at the level of the belt and a comb with its case serving as a handle (Galy 1841).
It is a molded legless goblet with a pattern of 15 vertical ribs on the belly and a four-pointed cross printed under the bottom of the object. The cross pattern is slightly offset from the axis of the object. The trace of recovery of the pontil is clearly visible. The slightly re-entrant right lip is thickened by heating over the flame. Many small bubbles and threads are visible. The glass is green in color. Its height is 8.5 cm and its opening diameter is 9.16 cm. This type of object is dated from the 6th century to the beginning of the 7th century. It is possible to compare this object with the one found in Aulnizeux, “the vignette” in the Marne (Feyeux 2003, n° 485).
Gobelets hémisphériques apodes de type T 57
1- Jau-Dignac-et-Loirac
During salvage excavations carried out in 2000 at Jau-Dignac-et-Loirac (Scuillier 2000), a legless hemispherical goblet with a diameter of 11.2 cm in opening and 6.1 cm in height, was discovered in sarcophagus no. 12 which contained two individuals. It was accompanied by a wealth of furniture (buckle plate and counter-plate for belt trim in damascened iron, a bone comb, all these objects are dated from the end of the 6th century to the beginning of the 7th century) (Cartron - Castex 2006 ).
This glass object, blown on the fly, has a semi-ovoid body and smooth walls, devoid of decoration. They flare out regularly and end in a rimmed and inwardly curved lip. The trace of the pontil is present under the object. This object is blue/green in color. Despite the scarcity of this color from the 3rd century, it is still used by Merovingian glassmakers. This goblet belongs to type T 57 and dates from the second half of the 7th century.
2-Bazas
This object was found in sarcophagus no. 15 during the excavations of Place Saint-Martin which took place from 1935 to 1951 in Bazas. It is a legless glass of green color with a lip thickened by heating on the flame, slightly curved inwards. The trace of the pontil is clearly visible under the object, as well as numerous threads and bubbles. Its height is 10 cm and its opening diameter is 10 cm.
This object can be compared to a goblet from Coulommes-et-Marqueney or one from Poivres “Champs la Cave” (Feyeux 2003, n° 527 and n° 529). This type of glass dates from the 7th century.
Bols hémisphériques à ouverture ourlée de type T 60
During the excavations of Saint-Gervais in Jonzac in 2009 and 2010, four bowls were discovered in four different sarcophagi. These are burials 27, 193, 199 and 207. Each contained a single individual except burial 207 which had two.
These four bowls are blue/green in color. Their lips are hemmed by folding the parison outwards.
The glass has many threads and small bubbles. The recovery by the pontil is visible under the four bowls. Their height varies from 5.5 cm to 7 cm and their opening diameter from 8.5 cm to 11 cm. These are hemispherical bowls with hemmed opening type T 60 dating from the second half of the 7th century to the beginning
of the 8th century.
Pots apodes carénés de type T 90
1- Sergeac
This pot discovered in 2005 in Sergeac was inside a ceramic pot. It has the negative of 3 glass threads in its upper part and its slightly inward curved lip is straight by heating on the flame. The collar is short and the opening flared. The glass is green in color and has many small bubbles and strings. The trace of the pontil is clearly visible under the object.
Its height is 5.7 cm and its opening diameter is 8 cm. It is possible to draw a parallel with a glass found in Waben (Feyeux 2003, n° 705). It is a pot from the second half of the 5th century, these containers with enamel decoration disappearing during the second half of the 6th century.
2- Argenton
In 1877, during works in the Argenton church, sarcophagi were discovered at a depth of 60 cm. Only a dozen sarcophagi have been excavated. In one of them was found a glass jar and an earthen jar with a handle. The glass jar has a slightly streamlined globular body ending in a flared opening with a short neck. The bottom has a central depression.
All that remains of this object is a drawing and a description of which the photo is of poor quality in the journal of the Archaeological Society of Bordeaux of 1876 (Coureau 1876). It is possible to compare this object to the one currently in the Museum of Saint-Germain-en-Laye which measures 6.4 high and is of unknown origin (Feyeux 2003, n° 694).
Pot à appendice de type T 91
A second complete glass was discovered on the same site of the cathedral of Oloron-Sainte-Marie during the winter of 2004. This glass is a pot with greenish appendages. In places, the oxidation which is characterized here by large white spots is significant. The height of the object is 7.8 cm. The lip, 3 mm thick, is straight and thickened by heating over the flame. The opening of the jar is flared and the cylindrical neck is short. The belly has a flattened globular shape in its lower part.
The foot is made up of 7 rounded lugs, arranged in a circle under the object. They were made by stretching the glass while it was still malleable. Their height is 5 mm and their width is 7 mm. The bottom of the object is re-entrant. The decoration is made up of threads of white enamel which disappear in places under oxidation. Eight fillets of different thickness are present on the upper part of the belly. Four cords decorate the central part of the pot. Between these 2 registers decorated with white nets, there is a thick white cord in an irregular zigzag. Five arcade-shaped nets decorate the lower part of the body. Four nets pass over the lugs, located under the glass. This glass belongs to type T 91 and dates from the 5th century.
Conclusion
Thus, few objects from the Merovingian period are present in the south-west of France. All the types to which the objects discovered in the south-west belong are to be compared to those present in the north and east of France: similarity of shapes and colors. Their presence in the south-west of France shows a distant diffusion of this type of glass and ensures geographical continuity with the northern and eastern regions.
Article reference
Hébrard-Salivas C., Verres de l'époque mérovingienne dans le sud-ouest de la France, AFAV, 2013, p. 83-86.
Photos de Catherine Hébrard-Salivas (copyright)
Indicative bibliography
Cadis, Marquette 1935-1951
Cadis (l.), Marquette (B.) : « La nécropole mérovingienne de la place Saint-Martin », rapport de fouilles, 33/04/11, SRA Aquitaine, 1935-1951.
Cartron, Castex 2006
Cartron (I.), Castex (D.) : « L’occupation d’un ancien îlot de l’estuaire de la Gironde : du temple antique à la Chapelle Saint-Siméon (Jau-Dignac-et-Loirac) », Aquitania, XXII, 2006, p.253-282.
Coureau 1876
Coureau (A.) : « Cimetière mérovingien à Argenton », Société Archéologique de Bordeaux, 1876, p.155-156.
Feyeux 2003
Feyeux (J.-Y.) : Le verre mérovingien du quart nord-est de la France, Paris, 1995.
Foy, Hochuli-Gysel 1995
Foy (D.), Hochuli-Gysel (A.) : « Le verre en Aquitaine du IVe au IXe siècle, Un Etat de la question », Le verre de l’Antiquité tardive et du haut Moyen Age, Typologie, chronologie, diffusion, Guiry-en-Vexin, 1995, p. 151-176.
Galy 1841
Galy (E.) : Catalogue du Musée archéologique du département de la Dordogne, Périgueux, 1841.
Perin 1995
Perin (P.) : « La datation des verres mérovingiens du Nord de la Gaule », Le verre de l’Antiquité tardive et du haut Moyen Age, Typologie, chronologie, diffusion, Guiry-en-Vexin, 1995, p.139-149.
Saint-Laurent-des-Bâtons 1979
Saint-Laurent-des-Bâtons : Gallia, tome 37, fascicule 2, 1979, p. 504-505.
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