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The research project for the Continuity and change in the emergence of the Hellenistic Glass industry in Greece is an innovative interdisciplinary investigation of ancient Greek glass aimed at solving key issues relating to archaeology and the ancient economy so as to enhance in fundamental ways archaeological, art historical, socioeconomic and technological interpretations and it is supported by state of the art innovative analytical techniques.
During the last fifteen years the history of ancient glassmaking has been the focus of an increasing interest. This is reflected in the archaeological investigations and archaeometric studies which have principally been aimed at locating ancient glass-making sites and at reconstructing models for the economic system which governed glass production and trade focused on Egyptian and Near Eastern sites dating back to the period of the origin of the first important phase of the glass industry (16th-11th century BC) and, also to some extent, to the Hellenistic and Roman Age, both in the south-eastern Mediterranean region and in the Continental Europe. After the death of Alexander the Great (in 323 BC) significant socioeconomic changes occurred in the South East Mediterranean. Greek cultural influence and power was at its zenith as reflected in prosperity and progress in the arts, literature, philosophy and science. The Hellenistic Seleucid empire and Ptolemaic Kingdom founded in southwest Asia at the time resulted in the export of Greek culture and language to these new realms, including trade and exchange of materials, ideas and technology, providing a crucial part of the socioeconomic framework into which glass fits.