A 12th century set of marvered purple glass vessels from Braničevo (Serbia)

Abstract

During the 2011 archaeological excavations at the Mali Grad site in Braničevo, a set of at least 16 vessels made of translucent dark-purple glass and decorated with marvered opaque white trails was discovered. This unique glass assemblage, consisting of at least eight bowls, three bottles, two cylindrical flasks and three further vessels which can be possibly attributed to flasks, was found in the most significant archaeological context in the urban centre of Braničevo, in the layer above the floor in House No 4. According to other archaeological finds from the same context, coins in particular, the glass vessel set is dated to the 12th century. Importantly, the finds from Braničevo are so far the earliest securely-dated vessels of this type in the territory of the Byzantine Empire, post-dating the reestablishment of its control over the Balkan Peninsula in the 11th century.