Marie-Dominique NENNA is an archaeologist and specialist in ancient glasswork. This film follows her search to locate the primary workshops of Egypt that produced the raw glass necessary to satisfy a growing demand for glassware during the Roman era. Beginning in archives and libraries, she then sets off to explore the hinterland of Alexandria and the oasis of Wadi Natroun. There, with the aid of geophysical surveys and traditional excavation techniques, she uncovers on the site of Beni Salama the largest tank furnaces of antiquity, installations that could .produce a glass slab of 15 to 20 tonnes in a single firing.

A film by Raymond COLLET
written by Marie-Dominique NENNA and Raymond COLLET
Production : CNRS (USR 3134) - Centre d’Etudes Alexandrines
22 minutes - © 2008 - CNRS / CEAlex
Distribution : Harpocrates Publishing - 9, Sesostris Street, Attarine, Alexandria, Egypt
• Camera and montage : Raymond COLLET
• Photographies and drawings : © Mission Archéologique Française du Wadi Natrun
• Music : Contemplate Meditate (Ed. The Music Bakery) - Improvisation oud
(Hazem Shahin) - Improvisation naï (Mounir Jebri)
• Voice off : Colin CLEMENT - Renée GIAN
• Translation : Colin CLEMENT
• Acknowledgements : Emilie ALONSO (INRAP) -Hag Hassan Ahmed ALY - Jasmin BADR (Université de Bamberg) - Christophe BENECH (CNRS) - Blas GIMENO - René-Vincent de GRANDLAUNAY (IDEOC) - Christiane HOCHSTRASSER-PETIT - Irena LAZAR - Aurore LOUIS (INRAP) - Sylvie MARCHAND (IFAO) - Sandrine MARQUIE (FNRS) - Véronique MERLE (INRAP) - Marie-Christine PETITPA - Valérie PICHOT (CNRS) - Maurice PICON (CNRS) - Laudine ROBIN (Université Lyon 2) - Cécile SHAALAN (CNRS) - Valérie THIRION-MERLE ((CNRS) - Michèle VICHY (CNRS)
Conseil Suprême des Antiquités Egyptiennes -Centre National de la Recherche
Scientifique - Ministère français des Affaires Etrangères et Européennes
Centre d’Etudes Alexandrines, USR 3134 - Histoire et Sources des Mondes
Anciens, UMR 5189, Maison de l’Orient et de la Méditerranée - Institut Dominicain
d’Etudes Orientales du Caire - Institut Français d’Archéologie Orientale -
Musée régional de Koper - Slovénie.

CEAlex 22’ MA11EN