Marie-Dominique Nenna is an archaeologist and specialist in ancient glasswork. This film follows her search to locate the primary workshops in Egypt that produced the raw glass necessary to satisfy a growing demand for glassware during the Roman era. Beginning in archives and libraries, she then sets off to explore the hinterland of Alexandria and the oasis of Wadi Natroun. There, with the aid of geophysical surveys and traditional excavation techniques, she uncovers, on the site of Beni Salama, the largest tank furnaces of antiquity, installations that could produce a glass slab of 15 to 20 tons in a single firing.
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Length: 22 min.
Country: Egypt
Language: English
Director: Raymond Collet
Producer: Jean-Yves Empereur, Center for Alexandrian Studies
Producer Web site: http://www.cealex.org/sitecealex/navigation/FENETRclip_NAVclip_E.HTM
Distributor: Harpocrates Publishing
Distributor Web site: http://www.harpocrates-publishing.com/index.html
Festival Screenings and Awards:
International Festival of the Archaeological Film of Besançon, France, 2009