Athens 1998 Overview

The purpose of this research proposal is to complete, update, and prepare for publication Dr. Gladys D. Weinberg's unfinished manuscript on the ancient glass from the Athenian Agora where American excavations brought to light a large amount of glass, much of it from independently datable contexts (5th c. B.G. to Middle Age). Fragments of almost every type of glass known from antiquity were found, mirroring the city's important role as a cultural center in the Classical period and continuing into the Roman empire. It is the opinion of the responsible director of the excavations (Dr. Homer A. Thompson) that the advanced stage of the manuscript and the significance of the material warrant every effort to complete the manuscript. The managing editor of the Agora series (Kerri Cox) has agreed to publish it. Dr. Weinberg requested that I finish her manuscript because she is totally incapacitated and can no longer write or speak. I am in a unique position to complete the project upon receiving adequate funding because I am a self-employed scholar.