We assume that when we install our double-glazed windows, the glass used will be the latest, most technologically advanced, and most durable glass available. Do you ever wonder how it all started?
Glass production has been around for a lot longer than we thought. Archaeologists found glass artefacts dating back to 3,000 BC in Egypt and Eastern Mesopotamia. Glass vases from the 16th century BC contain shards that show hollow glass production. Similar techniques were used at the same time by Greece, Egypt, and China.
You can imagine that the process was long, expensive and laborious. The process was slow, and expensive. It remained an item of supreme luxury that was very difficult for the average person to afford. Glass-blowing was the game-changer in the evolution of this art.
This method is said to have been developed by Syrian artisans in the first century. For the first time ever in human history, glass-blowing became quicker, cheaper, and easier. It was also more accessible to commoners. Ancient techniques and traditions are still used today, despite the fact that these early techniques haven’t changed much since their discovery.
The Roman Empire was the first to make glass, and it spread across Europe, the Mediterranean, and even further west. Glass was one of the main commodities traded outside of the Roman Empire. Around 100 AD, clear glass was found in Alexandria. This led to the first use of glass as a building material. This could be called the birth of glass windows. For Evesham Double Glazing, contact firmfix.co.uk
Venetian glassmaking flourished towards the end 1200s. Glass-making began here between 1096 and 1270, during the Crusades. In 1291, Murano in Venetian was the first island to produce world-class quality glass. The Venetians made great efforts to keep their glassmaking secrets secret, but eventually their knowledge spread to Europe.
Glass-making in England was not really important until the 16th Century. George Ravenscroft’s invention of lead glass in 1674 was a major advance for the industry. Mass production of glass would not begin until the Industrial Revolution. Michael Owens created a mechanical automatic machine for bottle blowing in 1903, which could produce over 2,000 bottles per hour. Have you heard of Pilkington Glass? Around the end of 1950s, Sir A. Pilkington developed a method of float glass production that is still used today to produce 90% of flat glasses.
Glass-making has evolved from a primitive craft to a modern, highly advanced one over the course of many centuries. Modern manufacturing plants can produce millions and millions of pieces of glass in hundreds of colours and uses.