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Where may glassmaking have first originated in the ancient Near East?

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fish of core-made glass — glassware Fish of core-made glass with “combed” decoration, Egyptian, New Kingdom, 18th dynasty (c. 1363–46 bc). In the British Museum. 0.141 m × .069 m.

It is not certain in which civilization of the ancient Near East glass was first produced, as evidence remains inconclusive. While glass as an independent object, such as beads, dates back to approximately 2500 BCE, its exact point of origin is debated.12

Some evidence suggests that glassmaking may have originated in Mesopotamia before being introduced to Egypt. Supporting this, a green glass rod discovered at Eshnunna in Babylonia may date as far back as 2600 BCE, and a piece of blue glass found at Eridu dates to before 2200 BCE. Conversely, the earliest wholly glass objects found in Egypt are beads dating to some time after 2500 BCE.21

While the manufacture of glass vessels may have begun slightly earlier in Mesopotamia, the craft was brought to a high level of excellence in Egypt during the 18th dynasty (c. 1490 BCE onwards). Because of these overlapping findings, scholars have not reached a definitive consensus on the precise location of the industry's birth.1