Dark blue plate, taken from the 5th century CE the tomb in the Japanese province of Nara is evidence of the existence of commercial links between Japan and the Roman Empire.
The research carried out by X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy showed that the chemical composition of the vessel is almost identical to Roman products from the 2nd century CE. and earlier. This composition corresponds, for example, to fragments of glass found in the palace in Ctesiphon, one of the largest cities in the ancient world. Ctesiphon was the winter capital of the Parthian Empire, and later the capital of Persia.
“In the fifth century, Japan had extensive trade contacts with the outside world. The vessel discussed here probably reached Japan via Central Asia, so it is no wonder that a long time passed between its production and its arrival in Japan,” says Takashi Taniichi from Sanyo. Gakuen University.
