Three glass beads discovered in the 5th century “Utsukushi” tumulus in Nagaoka (Kyoto) were probably made some time between the first and the fourth century by Roman craftsmen. Researchers from the Nara National Research Institute for Cultural Properties (Japan) they found that the yellow beads were made with Natron, a chemical used to melt glass by craftsmen in the Roman Empire. The beads, which have a hole through the middle, were made with a multilayering sophisticated technique. We did a little interview with Tomomi Tamura - 田村 朋美 - from Nara National Research Institute for Cultural Properties. What have you found? «We identified that the beads from the “Utsukushi” tumulus, excavated in 1988, were made from "Natron glass". They are the oldest multilayered glass products found in Japan, for the moment. The "Natron type glass", which is a feature of "Roman glass", is a kind of soda-lime glass with low MgO and K2O concentration (MgO, K2O < 1.5...
