The origin of the glass it was part in Syria which is called Phoenicia, there is
a swamp close to Judea, around the base of Mt. Carmel, from which the Bellus
River arises...  Whose sands are purified from contamination by the torrent's
flow. The story is that here a ship with natron (sodium carbonate) merchants had
been shipwrecked,  when they  were scattered about on the shore preparing food
and no stones were  at hand for propping up their pots, they brought lumps of
natron from the ship.
     The sand of the shore became mixed with the burning natron and translucent
streams of a new liquid  flowed forth, and this was the origin of glass  (Isidore of
Seville, Etymologies XVI.16 Translation by Charles Witke.)
Glass making also was discovered by potters in Mesopotamia, within the area
now known as the countries of Iraq and Syria. As early as 3300 years ago, secret
"instructions" for furnace building and glass making in Mesopotamia were  
written on  clay  tablets in a cuneiform alphabet. These instructions were copied
and recopied over the centuries.  A glimpse of glass making  in the 4th Century
A.D.  
      As early as 2000 BC, the Egyptians and Romans were creating advanced
glass art. Crafting multi-colored glass bowls, beautiful jewellery and decorative
wall tiles, they  visualized and made masterpieces.  Many examples of their work
exist today in museums around the world.Glass is one of the most ancient of all
materials known and used by mankind.           
    The geologic glass, obsidian was first used  by man  thousands of  years ago
form knives, arrow tips,  jewellery etc. Man made  glass  objects appear to  be
first reported in the Mesopotamian region as early as 4,500 B.C.
     Glass objects dating as old as 3,000 B.C. have also been found in Egypt.  
"Archaeological research now places the first evidence  of true glass there
(Mesopotamia) at around 2500 B.C.. At first it was used for beads, seals, and
architectural decoration. Some 1,000 years elapsed before  glass vessels are
know to have been produced. Vessels of glass quickly became  widespread in the
second half of the second millennium B.C..
     They were popular not only in Mesopotamia but also in Egypt and the
Aegean" (from the Kelsey Museum site)
     Surprisingly  these glasses have their compositions very similar to those of
modern soda lime silicate glass. No doubt the readily available soda ash, from
fires, limestone, from seashells and silica sand, from  the beaches are the cause
of this agreement. Earlier glass coated objects have dated to as early  as  12,000
B.C. and are in the form of glazes and enamels on ceramic pottery, used
presumably to improve the water tightness of various jugs, bottles and vases.
     Among the most interesting glass techniques from that era is something
that, just since 1935, has been  making a resurgence fusing. With 20th century
technology and inexpensive kilns with modern engineering  innovations and a
blending of the old processes, glass fusing is much more accessible than in
Roman times. Plus now we can  produce a palette of fusible colours of glass
ranging across the visible spectrum. Any one of us can explore the full potential
of glass. Try this technique, you may fall in love with glass art all over again.
     An appropriate work surface such as he raised plastic grid used by stained
glass artist works great to catch small pieces of glass as it is cut and shaved into
shape.  Kiln shelves, kiln wash, stilts, fiber paper,  alumina coat,  gloves, hot
pads, metal ruler, tweezers  or tongs and glass glue, adhesive is also required.
     After the glass is layers and designed on the kiln shelf  (treated with kiln
wash) it's time to heat  the kiln to 1500 F. degrees, glass starts to flow so this is
the time to peek into the kiln to check the fuse. Although the glass is flowing at
this temperature I've found it necessary to maintain this temperature for about
10 to 15 minutes and the glass bends and starts to slump down all around the
base.  After adequate using of the piece it's okay to vent the kiln and allow it to
cool quickly to 1000 F.  The glass needs to soak and annealing for another hours
depending of the size and thickness of the glass.   
     In  general it takes about  20 hours before fused piece  s  ready  to be
removed from my kiln.   After this time the kiln can be allowed to cool slowly
the temperature.
     Fusible glass is also "tested compatible" which means that each sheet of this
hand rolled glass will fuse properly with another sheet  that  has the same rating
and coefficient of expansion because they would shatter.  This is part of  what  
makes fused glass different and  when  the kiln has ad equated cooled,  it's is
time to open it up and enjoy the beautiful fused surprise.
Glass Technique Fusing