A large batch of glass fragments was discovered in a well located in the old town of Pézenas, near the "mound of the castle" (Hérault). (Hérault studies, 39, 2009, p.63-76).
Following the need to carry out domestic work, a well was discovered in a courtyard. This well would have been filled in the 17th century. It was emptied from 1998 by its owners, the operation took place over several years. The archaeological study of the glass was carried out following the reassembly of the glass artefacts.
Glass fragments collected in a well. Some objects from the 16th/17th centuries are archaeologically complete.
Several types of glassware were discovered
crockery, essentially composed of hemmed stemmed glass and hollow stem, truncated stemmed glass, some of which have a thread of blue glass, bottles, a large batch of flat glass and small objects such as fragments of a pearl, a ring and a bottle stopper (all in blue). The dishes were mainly located in the shaft at a depth between 22 and 24 m, and flat glass between 3.5 m and 4.5 m.
The button of a leg is embellished with very fine white threads, integrated into the upper part of the mass of glass. It is a “Venice-style” decoration in latticinio, a copy has already been discovered in Strasbourg in latrines in the rue des Juifs dating from the middle of the 17th century. Two backgrounds that appear to belong to lamps have been collected. The first has kept all its transparency while the other is more oxidized and has the trace of the pontil. They resemble those which were discovered in the Alpes de Haute Provence at Ganagobie and which would be dated from the beginning of the 16th century.
A total of 19.5 kg of window glass was found in the upper part of the pit fill. This lot is very fragmented, the largest fragments are 10 cm long by 4 wide. They are mostly green or green/yellow in color. Only 9 have another color: 1 blue, 3 orange, 1 brown, 4 colorless lined with red.
Many shards show traces of cutting made with a pointed object, some have the shape of a cut rod, others in the shape of a half-moon. Many plate edges have defects: very thick, twisted or bent edges. It seems that this lot corresponds to waste from the work of a glazier.
Many shards show traces of cutting made with a pointed object, some have the shape of a cut rod, others in the shape of a half-moon. Many plate edges have defects: very thick, twisted or bent edges. It seems that this lot corresponds to waste from the work of a glazier.
The flat glass was obtained by the cylinder technique: the edges are straight and no bullseye - an indication of the glass technique obtained by plate - was collected. Some shards are notched on one or more edges. Some shapes are recognizable: triangles, rectangles, quarter circle, half-oval, arc of circle. These shapes show the remains of a glazier's window. The coins discovered at the same depth as this batch of flat glass range between 1618 and 1643. The glassware seems to date from two periods: a few fragments from the Gallo-Roman era and a significant number of fragments from the 16th/17th centuries. The recognizable shapes essentially correspond to drinking glasses and bottles. The flat glass would come from the waste of a 16th/17th century glazier's workshop. This glassware seems to have been thrown into the well to fill it with other materials, but it is not known when. Thus a typo-chronology is impossible. A dendrochronology, making it possible to date the period of use of this well, could be carried out since the discovery of wooden buckets ringed with iron at a depth of 24 m.
Références : Hébrard-Salivas C., Etat de la verrerie du puits de Pézenas (12, rue du château) In, Etudes héraultaises, 39, 2009, p.63-76.
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