CIRCA MID 4TH-EARLY 5TH CENTURY A.D.

Stern (Roman, Byzantine, and Early Medieval Glass, p. 361-362) asserts that these tiny vessels were possibly worn as amulets, suspended by the handles. She suggests a Christian association, citing the shape of the jugs as evoking vessels used to collect holy water from Christian sites, and their distribution across the Eastern Mediterranean, specifically Syro-Palestine and Western Europe. For similar examples, see fig. 8 in Stern, op. cit., and nos. 342-352 in Spaer, Ancient Glass in the Israel Museum. Stern, op. cit., notes that these glass vessels were not blown and likely were made by the same craftsmen producing tooled glass beads.