The Trading and Consumption of Roman Glass in Britain 43-500 CE

REVIEW BY RACHEL TYSON

This study analyses the glass from 29 sites across Roman Britain to provide us with a picture of its consumption within different socio-economic groups and gain a better understanding of the trade and distribution of glass and what lies behind those patterns. Resulting from Marsh’s PhD research, with useful background sections for the non-specialist, complementary analytical methods are employed. The most valuable chapters include the various profiles of glass found at military (16), and civilian (13, divided between urban, rural, and shrine or burial) sites, accompanied by a discussion of consumption and the complexities of each group of sites. The analysis of the trade and distribution of this glass is a beneficial addition to our knowledge; although problematic due to the difficulties in provenancing where glass types were produced, Marsh uses observations from his data and draws together much that is useful from across the western empire, to propose how glass reached communities in Britain.