The glassmaking tradition of ancient Rome was continued in the Eastern Roman Empire, that is, in the Byzantium. Glass was brought from there by the Vikings and their offspring to as far as Lund and Sigtuna in Sweden and even Trondheim. It means that the small fragments of a blue, enamelled glass vessel discovered on the west coast of Norway have travelled from EuropeΓÇÖs southeastern corner to the very northwestern edge of the continent over 800 years ago! Information on Byzantine glass has been preserved mainly in written sources. There are still only few finds, although recent excavations, for instance in Novgorod, have revealed a great deal of new material.
