Viking Age upcycling (IMAGE)
Caption
Glass analysed in this study; Colourless and weakly greenish-yellowish glass ‘cubes’ gilded with a thin plate of gold on one exterior surface (still attached on cube in upper right side of the pile) and white Viking beads analysed in this study. The chemistries of the latter showed how the glassmakers in Ribe had found an easy way to ‘upcycle’ the cubes in an effort to save fuel and energy by simply crushing and remelting them in open air at low temperature, thereby trapping air so bubbles could not escape. This way, they could produce opaque white beads with a minimum use of resources.
Credit
Museum of Southwest Jutland
Usage Restrictions
Credit must be given to the creator. Only noncommercial uses of the work are permitted.
License
CC BY-NC