In 2020, a huge explosion destroyed the military harbor of Beirut. Unfortunately, also the ancient glass vessels kept by the Archaeological Museum of the American University of Beirut (AUB) were completely shattered, as well as thousands of glass sherds found during the excavations of the BCC (Beirut City Center) Archaeology Project. These vessels, however, are most significant in telling the story of the development of glass-working and glass-blowing technology in the Eastern Mediterranean.
To discuss the potential of the glass sherds for scientific investigations, a multidisciplinary workshop, inviting specialists to guide and support the field of experiential and multilayered glass study, will take place in Beirut and online via zoom, from 17th to 18th January 2022, organized by the AUB Archaeological Museum and several other international institutions. This workshop is a first step of a series of future initiatives to implement interdisciplinary investigations across faculties. It addresses scholars from various sciences like physics, chemistry, archaeology and computer science / engineering sciences to foster interdisciplinary collaboration in the field of ancient glass studies especially with regards to the reconstruction and conservation of ancient glass fragments.
Papers must be in line with the main theme of the workshop, focusing on the variety of glass aspects, as described in the workshop axes: Restoration, archaeological / typology of glass, material science and glass, and computer vision and glass reconstruction.
To submit an abstract please send it to: museum@aub.edu.lb
Abstracts should not be longer than 300 words.
Abstract submission deadline: November 25, 2021
The official language of the Conference is English. No translation services will be available.
Presentations should not exceed 30 minutes, including 5-10 minutes for questions and discussion.
PARTNER INSTITUTIONS
The AUB Archaeological Museum in collaboration with
The Cyprus Institute,
The Classical Archaeology Department (Trier University)
The Institut Français du Proche-Orient
The Center for Advanced Mathematical Sciences (AUB)
The DIgiTal Cultural Heritage (DITCH) Center (MSFEA, AUB)
The Department of History and Archaeology (FAS, AUB)
The Department of Physics (FAS, AUB)