Glass Syringe

The Glass Syringe was among the archaeological artifacts selected for display in the ‏‏Saudi Archeological Masterpieces Through the Ages Exhibition‏‏, held at the Louvre Museum in Paris, the French capital in 2010. The three hundred diverse original pieces crafted from various materials and spanning different historical periods originate from various provinces across the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The pieces are classified chronologically into three groups: artifacts from prehistoric times, artifacts from the pre-Islamic era, and artifacts from the Islamic era.

It is a funnel-shaped syringe, narrowing at the bottom and widening at the top, with a fine funnel-shaped tube. Some parts of its body are missing. This artifact dates back to the ninth century, belonging to the Abbasid era during the Islamic period. It was discovered in the historical area of al-Rabadha, located about two hundred km east of ‏al-Madinah al-Munawwarah‏, near the western edge of ‏the Hejaz Mountains‏ in Saudi Arabia.

Height of the syringe: Five cm.

Tube length: Four cm.

Nozzle diameter: 4.5 cm.

This type of glass vessel was used for medical purposes, including cupping therapy. The discovery of this syringe is among the findings of archaeological surveys and excavations conducted by the antiquities and museums sector in Saudi Arabia over the past years, as well as the discoveries of Saudi archaeologists and scientific expeditions in their efforts to uncover Saudi Arabia's treasures of successive civilizations that inhabited Saudi Arabia's lands.

The glass syringe is preserved at the Museum of the Department of Archeology at King Saud University in Riyadh, where it is cataloged under the number R-19-21.

The glass syringe was crafted using blowing and free-cutting techniques, with its body connected to a funnel-shaped tube that served as an attached spout. It highlights the Abbasid-era artisans' focus on medical tools used for cupping therapy.