1600yr-old glass kilns recently discovered during construction of new railway line in Haifa prove Israel was at the center of the international glass trade during the late Roman period.
By Jesse Lempel/TPS
A first-of-its-kind accidental discovery of ancient glass kilns at the foot of Mt. Carmel demonstrates that Israel was at the center of the global glass trade during the late Roman period, the Israel Antiquities Authority announced on Monday.
The extraordinary kilns, which are approximately 1,600 years old, are “the earliest found in Israel and the missing link for the production and export of glass,” Yael Gorin-Rosen, head curator of the Israel Antiquities Authority Glass Department, told Tazpit Press Service (TPS).
The kilns were discovered by chance last summer during construction of a new railway line to the northern city of Haifa, when the on-site archeologist, Abdel Al-Salam Sa’id, noticed peculiar shards of glass and ash.
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