Background Stage 18

Question 1

How did glass makers come to Alexandria

Answer 1

When Alexandria was founded in 332 bc , craftsman flocked to the city to practise and Improve their skills , among these craftsman were glass makers

Question 2

What is glass made from

Answer 2

Sand and sodium carbonate , produced from the ash of certain plants.

Question 3

What’s the earliest use for glassmaking

Answer 3

Glazing pottery

Question 4

What did glass makers experiment with

Answer 4

Different shapes and colours

Question 5

What was discovered about glass

Answer 5

That if glass is heated until it becomes semi liquid that it can be shaped and left to harden.

Question 6

How was glass first shaped

Answer 6

By wrapping molten glass around a clay or sand core, which had been moulded into the shape required . When the glass hardens the core is then scraped or washed out. This however was only suitable for making small vessels such as perfume containers

Question 7

How do you make colured glass

Answer 7

By adding different chemicals. Blue green brown and white were the most commen colors

Question 8

How were vessels decorated

Answer 8

By trailing thin lines of molten glass into the finished vessel. Often in typical Alexandrian style , known as millefiori

Question 9

How were bowls made

Answer 9

Small pieces if colored glass were arranged in a mold and then heated until they fused together

Question 10

When was glass blowing discovered

Answer 10

In first century b.c in Syria or Egypt

Question 11

What is glass blowing

Answer 11

Wrapping molten glass around the end of a hollow pipe and shaping it by blowing through the pipe. First you dip the pipe onto the crucible above the furnace and take a blob of molten glass . Then blow steadily down the pipe to make a hollow bubble. By carefully reheating and repeated blowing the bubble can be made very big

Question 12

How can one produce different glass shakes by glass blowing

Answer 12

By swinging the bubble gently while blowing or using special tools for shaping or cutting . Identical objects can be produced by blowing the glass into a mold

Question 13

How did glassblowing change the glassmaking industry

Answer 13

Glass could be made quickly and efficiently and glass could be used to make ordinary house hold objects. The fame if Alexandrian glass spread and the glass makers prospered

Question 14

When were the earliest Egyptian glass vessels discovered

Answer 14

Found i Egyptian tombs , 1500 bc

Question 15

Why was Egypt fertile

Answer 15

South of Alexandra stretch the third tell valley of the River Nile. Each year the Nile flooded water in the land and depositing rich new soil on the fields. This produced not only enough corn to supply the whole of Egypt but also a large surplus to be exported. However the profits from the corn trade benefited only a small number of people

Question 16

What was the system if Egypt

Answer 16

Breuners before the Romams had worked out a system for making the fullest possible use of the land to their own advantage. They regarded the whole country has their own property and treated the peasant farmers as their private force of workers . They had drawn up a detailed register of all the plots of land in Egypt and the crops grown and then and in every village lived government officials whose jobs was to keep the register up to date and check up on the peasants who worked on the land

Question 17

Why was life hard for peasants

Answer 17

Because they had no choice but to work hard all the year round. They were not allowed to leave the village without permission they had to plant what ever crop they were told and they did not receive their share of the hardest until the ruler had received his. They were also responsible for the upkeep and repair of the countries canals and Dykes. Everything the peasants did was checked by the officials. Such careful supervision gave the peasant little chance of going unnoticed or avoiding work. All they could do was complain

Question 18

How did the Romans change peasant life

Answer 18

The Romans did nothing to improve the life of the peasants like the previous rulers the Romans were more concerned to use the land for their own benefit then to improve the working conditions of peasant farmers above all they wanted to ensure a steady supply of corn to Rome. To avoid the danger of riots the Emperor made sure that Egypt was under his personal control. That the money was needed by the government for example to maintain the forest the police and the huge numbers of officials. This money was raised by taxation . That would taxes on vineyards slaves imported and exported goods. Government officials check continually on the day-to-day activities of the Egyptians. If a man went fishing and official went with them to register his cat, is anyone sailed out of Alexandra without a permit you might be find one third of his property. License is my quiet for such activities as brew keeping beekeeping and pig boy then. Bribery and corruption were common and what part of normal daily life