The glass in early al-Andalus

The expansion of Islam in the western Mediterranean led to far-reaching changes in the conquered societies. The study of glass assemblages found in archaeological contexts dating back to the early centuries of al-Andalus, coupled with analytical research and written sources, has emerged as a valuable resource for analysing these transformations. In eighth and early ninth centuries glassmakers were forced to recycle late antique materials due to the end of raw glass imports from the East but also, they developed new glassmaking methods using locally available resources. The import of eastern finished vessels served as prototypes of the new shapes and decorations to the vessels produced in the workshops of al-Andalus. These changes resulted in the long term in the configuration of clearly “Islamised” wares, in a different system of glass production and distribution from that which prevailed from antiquity to the Visigothic period.