Roman influence

[Veli]

This is an interesting discovery:

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120624a9.html

 

 

Veli

[kusunokimasahige]

As a scholar of Ancient History I must caution anyone remotely believing this idea.

 

There is no proof whatsoever that the glass beed found is actually Roman. There also is no proof

that in the East glass would have been something which was unknown, or not made. Of course there

is the thesis that the Chinese never invented glass since they already had porcelain.

 

China probably did have trade contacts with Rome or with traders who came through the silk road,

but we do not know if the names for the Western Empire found in ancient Chinese manuscripts are at

all pointing towards Rome or maybe even to the Parthian Empire or the later Persian-Sassanid Empire.

 

In Pompeii an object of clearly Indian origin was found, which indicates there probably were long distance

trade contacts in existence.

 

 

Now the other problem with this story is that the Nagaoka tomb is a fifth century one.

Of course that makes the possibility that the bead was constructed in the Eastern half of the Roman Empire not unlikely, but still it offers no proof of official contacts between Rome and Japan, as some articles would want us to believe. Especially not since during the 5th Century the Roman Empire was in great turmoil.

 

Roman and even much earlier Greek coins have been found on several places in Asia as well as India, and we know that some Greeks being part of Alexander the Great's Army highly likely have travelled to Sri-Lanka.

 

So yes, the bead might well come from the central European or even Iranian region.

Is it Roman ? No definitive answer can be given. Why not? Because during the fifth century,

also the Persian Sassanid Empire had this technology. They had Natron and knew how to make glass, as did other peoples.

 

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c ... _400ad.jpg

 

KM

[Bugyotsuji]

Good reply.

 

If you have spare time and want to read a very mixed bag of international replies, some quite off the wall , then have a look at the readers' comments here:

http://www.japantoday.com/category/nati ... near-kyoto

[kusunokimasahige]

I especially like this one :

 

"proxyJun. 23, 2012 - 09:52AM JST

 

Well, the tomb of Jesus is in Aomori."

 

 

KM

[Lindus]

With the "Ancient" world trade routes going pretty much every where despite us thinking we are the first world traders, seems likely that over the spice/Silk route or via the Chinese maritime trade, these things could easily have found there way to Japan.

Half expecting to read of a Viking sword found in New Zealand.

 

Roy

[Soten_Fan]

It is not likely that it was brought to Japan directly from Europe, but in anycase the correct term to describe the item would be Byzantine, as the Greeks took over the eastern part of the former roman empire around that time, having Constantinople as the capital.

[kusunokimasahige]

That would indeed be a more apt name Dimitri, even though of course the Romans of the Eastern empire did not call themselves that. They were after all, Romans.

 

 

KM