Archaeologists have uncovered an ancient glass workshop in the Jewish quarter of Hebron, dating back to the 13th and 14th centuries. The site includes both primary production kilns, used for raw glassmaking, and secondary kilns, where glass objects were crafted, according to Evgeny Aharonovich of the Civil Administration’s Archaeology Unit.
“This workshop serves as a unique missing link between the region’s early glassmaking traditions —established in the 2nd century BCE near Na’aman Stream, close to Haifa Bay — and the renowned Hebron glass industry that flourished under the Ottoman Empire and British Mandate,” Aharonovich said.
For centuries, Hebron’s glass products were a highly sought-after brand, prized by travelers and tourists alike as symbols of quality and innovation, he added.
Most ancient glass workshops discovered in Israel have been located along the coastal plain, where raw materials like high-quality sand were readily available and trade routes — both maritime and overland — were easily accessible.
“During the Roman, Byzantine and early Islamic periods, the region produced exceptionally high-quality glass, which was well-known across the ancient world,” Aharonovich explained. Together with Alexandrian glass from Egypt, glass made in this area accounted for 90% of the Mediterranean trade in glassware at the time
Get the Ynetnews app on your smartphone: Google Play: https://bit.ly/4eJ37pE | Apple App Store: https://bit.ly/3ZL7iNv
The newly discovered workshop in Hebron, which operated during the Mamluk period (13th-14th centuries CE), is particularly notable because it is the only known glass production site located in the mountainous interior rather than the coast. Archaeologists believe its existence points to a local glassmaking tradition that relied on nearby raw materials, including sand from a quarry in the region.
The Hebron glass workshop will be featured in a special conference this week in Jerusalem, hosted by the Civil Administration’s Archaeology Unit, the Council for the Preservation of Heritage Sites in Israel, and the Ministry of Heritage.
During the event, additional artifacts and findings from the workshop will be revealed, along with discoveries from other historical sites across the West Bank. The conference will welcome speakers from around the world and is expected to draw hundreds of attendees.
Benjamin Har Even, head of the Civil Administration’s Archaeology Unit, emphasized the significance of the gathering.
“This conference aims to showcase and make archaeological knowledge more accessible in a way that hasn’t been done before,” he said. “The West Bank is home to numerous important sites, spanning from the Stone Age to the present day, and plays a crucial role in deepening our understanding of the region’s history.”
The Archaeology Unit, he added, is working tirelessly to preserve and protect these sites, recognizing them as part of our collective heritage.