As many people who work with structural glass, tempered glass and safety glass can attest, the material can be formulated and moulded to make almost any shape or design imaginable and suit practically any purpose.

The power of glass for purposes beyond the decorative in architecture dates back to the use of glass brick, first used in the 19th century but most famously and extensively used in the Maison de Verre in 1932.

However, the versatility and potential strength of glass could potentially date back 2000 years, if the myth of “vitrium flexile” (flexible glass) is true.

There are several accounts, but the most detailed was in the book Satyricon by the writer and courtier Petronius.

In it, an unnamed inventor claimed to have invented an unbreakable glass that dented instead of shattering. He was invited to demonstrate it to then-emperor Tiberius Caesar.

The drinking bowl indeed was merely dented by the test, and with the help of a small crafting hammer, the inventor easily beat the bowl back into shape.

He was asked if he was the only person who knew how to make glass with these properties, and when he responded that he was, Tiberius ordered that he be executed via beheading.

The reason for this, according to Petronius, was a fear that the flexible glass would be so valuable that it would devalue gold, silver and copper, three precious metals that were considered to be a fundamental part of the Roman economy.

This story was also repeated by Pliny the Elder in his Naturalis Historia historical compilation of ancient works, although he also noted that the story spread widely but was not necessarily true.

No example of vitrium flexile was ever found and the story is considered by historians to be almost certainly false as a result.

However, one article claims that whilst unlikely, it is feasible that an early version of borosilicate glass could have been made by the Romans with the technology and materials available.