Posted on 11/15/2014 4:26:09 PM PST by SunkenCiv
-A glass dish unearthed from a burial mound here is the first of its kind confirmed to have come to Japan from the Roman Empire, a research team said...
The dish and bowl were retrieved together from the No. 126 tumulus of the Niizawa Senzuka cluster of ancient graves, a national historic site. The No. 126 tumulus dates back to the late fifth century...
According to the team’s analysis, the chemical composition of the clear dark blue dish is almost identical to glasswork unearthed in the area of the Roman Empire (27 B.C.-A.D. 395).
Measuring 14.1 to 14.5 centimeters in diameter, the flat, raised dish is believed to have been created in the second century at the latest...
The chemical compositions of natron, a type of sodium mineral, as well as sand made of silica and lime, resemble those typically found in Mediterranean glasswork produced in the Roman Empire and the following Eastern Roman Empire period.
The team also conducted a fluorescence X-ray test on the dish using a high-energy radiation beam at the Spring 8 large synchrotron radiation facility in Sayo, Hyogo Prefecture. The test revealed antimony, a metallic element believed to be used in Rome until the second century.
...the chemical composition of the cut glass bowl is the same as that of glass fragments unearthed from the remains of a palace in the ancient Persian capital of Ctesiphon. The bowl is 8 cm in diameter, 7 cm tall and narrower in the upper part.
(Excerpt) Read more at ajw.asahi.com ...
I’ve been there and loved it.
Oh geez! lol
There’s a Han court record of a Roman trader arriving in China, and presenting himself as an ambassador (common in ancient times, as a security measure) of Marcus Aurelius. There were of course major seaports in SE Asia that have since completely vanished, but they were a going concern for 1000 years or so, thriving on commerce with China, India, and for a long while, Rome and Byzantium. Islam screwed everyone in the Middle Ages and brought on worldwide economic decline.
Wow! Roman goods got around. It’s beautiful, too.
The newer stuff was pretty boring, looked like bequests from people who’d had nothing better to do than accumulate place settings and whatnot. :’)
It’s wild how far afield and how long ago commerce was going on in Asia — Neolithic products are found thousands of miles from their point of origin. Humans love to trade.
My understanding is that most of the traffic on the the Silk Road also went thru many intermediaries. Traders running a single load the whole distance of the Road were probably the exception if they existed at all.
Have an old National Geographic that did
a story of the making of that big glass mirror.
Great magazine before it turned leftist.
I remember seeing the first, flawed attempt at the Big Eye reflector (used to be the largest telescope in the world) and a working armonica.
About 3 miles up the road in Chino Hills, CA. Literally just finished up my Teryaki Salmon and Sushi Combo Dinner.
I kid you not. It's better than it's Yelp rating.
http://www.yelp.com/biz/nara-japanese-restaurant-chino-hills
How old is the burial mound?
I think the article buried key elements of the story.
Roman ships got to China. The pagan Romans painted eyes on their ships. The Chinese say that and thought it was cool and started to put eyes on their junks. Romans had a counting board—Chinese copied and improved it as the Abacus. Lots of trade went on at one time. Chinese invented the crossbow—Romans were impressed with it and improved it.
Thank you for posting this. Truly amazing.
Humans love to trade.
***
And sometimes plunder.
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