Roman glass bowls from Intercisa

Abstract

This paper covers the glass bowl fragments brought to light at Intercisa (Dunaújváros, Hungary). Bowls occur in relatively high number among the finds from the vicus and the military fort of Intercisa. The open vessels assigned to this category have a rim diameter exceeding the vessel height or exceeding the vessel height by at least 60%. Of the roughly 700 glass fragments known from the site, no more than 72 represent bowls, accounting for about 10% of the vessel glass, a relatively high proportion. Facet-cut bowls are the most frequent type among bowls: 40 pieces can be assigned to this category. Mosaic and ribbed bowls, as well as some cast and mould-pressed bowls are typical of the early Roman period. The vast majority of the bowls are blown vessels and date to the later second and the third centuries, with a few exemplars dating to the fourth century. Two bowl types stand out from among the finds, namely the facet-cut bowls and the scallop bowls of the late Roman period, which, judging from their regional distribution, had probably both been produced in a glass workshop active on the Intercisa settlement. One remarkable fragment from a hemispherical bowl bears a male head with a hedgehog hairstyle; it is paralleled by several vessels not only from the Cologne area, but also from Pannonia.