Drinking glasses were not commonplace in the Iron Age, so those who were fortunate enough to own such valuables took good care of them. There was no glass production in Scandinavia, so the glasses came from far away; from the Black Sea region, the Continent and eventually also from England. Should the worst happen anyway – that someone dropped a glass on the floor and it broke, it was carefully repaired. This glass goblet is repaired with decorated and gold-plated silver fittings. Such repairs were difficult and required expertise. A specialized craft centre for glass repairs probably existed in the southwest of Norway. The glass may already have been 100 years old when it was repaired sometime in the first half of the 6th century AD. Repaired glass cup from Snartemo in Vest-Agder. C26001.