Casgliadau Arlein

A large fragment from a rectangular glass jar of the 1st or 2nd century AD.

The sherd is large and of clear glass with a slight green tint. Two corners survive, one is perpedicular side corner, the other is a rounded shoulder. The vessel is gently curved in a concave direction.

We can tell this vessel was rectangular, rather than hexagonal, due to the ninety degree angle of that perpendicular corner.

Similar rectangular and square handled jars first appeared in Wales just before the middle of the 1st century AD, after which they became the dominant type of glass vessel. They had fallen out of use by the late 2nd century (Allen, 1998, p.34-5).