Glass was a rare and expensive good during the viking age. It was not local to Scandinavia and difficult to transport because of its delicate nature. This particular beaker is from the Rhineland, but glass came to Scandinavia from France, Belgium, and all of Germany. It is not surprising, however, that this particular beaker ended up in Birka; not only was Birka one of the premier trading ports in Scandinavia at the time, but items have been found there from as far away as the Muslim world and Russia.^4, 5 Glass and this beaker both serve as symbols of cultural and material exchange. 

There have been many examples of glass products excavated in Scandinavia (especially common are beads and drinking vessels). The presence of glass in a Norse gravesite implies that the person buried was very high-status. Two common shapes of glass drinking vessels are this one (rounded with a flat bottom) and the cone shape pictured in the top of the group image. The historians and archaeologists at the Museum of London posit that the cone-shaped beakers would have been used at feasts, where the lack of a base would have forced the drinker to empty it whenever it was filled in order to be able to put it down.⁶  However, this particular beaker would have been used as modern cups are because it is able to rest flat. 

This unusual item is not practical; it is made of difficult-to-find glass, delicate, and difficult to transport. Its presence implies a desire for luxury goods in the viking world and also cultural/material exchange.