Ornament from a Chandelier Chain: 5th or 6th century AD
Polycandela were multiple holders for glass oil-lamps and were employed in both churches and homes. The copper-alloy disc is cast and pierced, and the centre is decorated with a Maltese cross; all the concave surfaces of this object were once filled with glass, so that it would have reflected multi colours when the candles were lit. Hanging chandeliers with many candles were being made and used at home and in churches early in the Medieval period in the eastern Mediterranean; luxuries like this were unknown in Britain until many centuries later.
Arculf, a Gaulish bishop visiting Jerusalem in AD 670 was amazed when visiting the Church of the Ascension on the Mount of Olives, by the number of such lamps - so that "all Mount Olivet seems to be not only illuminated but even on fire, and the whole city, situated on the lower ground nearby, seems to be lit up".
