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If Egyptians mastered the primary techniques for glass elaboration, why are there no vestiges of blown glass pieces from this time, and they appear until the Romans produced them in large quantities in Alexandria? As mentioned before, the mortuary rituals, the adoration service, and the preparation for the long journey to eternity was of superb importance to the Egyptians. This is true to such an extent, that their homes were not constructed with “eternity” materials, only sepulchres. Only tombs and temples are preserved to this day. The only source of information on their every day life are the funerary equipment, the Book of the dead, the relieves and the frescos filled with symbolic colors, and some house models that show the design and materials used for construction. For this reason, the enormous quantity of amulets, unguent recipients, perfume flasks, and cosmetic containers that accompanied the deceased in their eternal mission were part of the ceremonial preparation, and their importance for men and women was significant. Moreover, they were not mass-produced because of their ritual, non-utilitarian purpose.

When Alexander the Great invaded Egypt he founded Alexandria as the capital of the Kingdom, leaving the Ptolemies as leaders. This event brought about Egyptian decay, due to the fact the new dynasty enforced its own ethnic, political and religious Hellenistic identity, arousing interminable wars. Kingdoms are born and then disappear. After the surrendering of Cleopatra, Egypt was subject to the Romans, who spread their dominions far and wide and structuctured a powerful New Kingdom. Hegemony was no longer territorial, it acquired commercial, political and cultural ranks. The Egyptians went through the experience of having a mixing of cultures, where many of the characteristics of their civilization totally disappeared. Local traditions were progressively changed while “this life” acquired a great importance to men. Such changes not only influenced but also defined many of their actions, including those concerning glass. The first major change was the use given to glass items: they were no longer solely of ceremonial and ritual usage but became more utilitarian. From then on, Egyptian artisans started to produce blown-glass in large quantities with the purpose of exporting the goods to all the other domains of the Roman Kingdom including the provinces in Europe.

It is well known that the Romans acquired all the scientific knowledge from the Greeks but never provided any new contributions. However, they were masters in the fields of engineering and construction. It is important to remember that during the Ptolemaic period, there was a fusion between Greek and Roman thinking, resulting in the profound study of different sciences. In chemistry, the properties and changes of the different elements were systematically studied: from clay to ceramics, from minerals to metals, from sand to glass. Thus, in the same way geometry was restructured by Euclid into a logical system, Ptolemy compiled astronomy, and Zosimo synthesized alchemy, the Egyptian culture, religion and philosophy revolutionized the Romans and adopted the antique techniques and formulas in different areas, like those specialized in glass blowing. From then on, glass reached perfection and was exported to all their domains dispersed over the area they called “Mare Nostrum”.