The collection of early to mid-Roman glasses from the Kom el-Dikka site in Alexandria has been expanded to include new finds from the excavation of substantial remains of Roman domestic architecture ...(Houses FA and FB) in Sector F in the central part of the site. The range of vessel forms in this new set is not extensive, and shapes known from previous investigations in this sector are repeated to a degree. The most noteworthy contribution is the new data on colourless glassware of the period, a category that has hitherto been represented by a rather limited number of finds from the excavations, and which constitutes key evidence of artisanal activities in the final occupation phase of the Roman houses here.
•Evidences of glass working and recycling activities of furnaces near the Roman city of Aquileia.•Clues that underpin hypothesis of centre for production of special coloured glass, such as amber, ...black, and emerald green glass.•Provenience of primary glass from both Egyptian and Syro-Palestinian furnaces.
A set of 29 glass shards, selected from numerous ones recovered in 2017 in Aquileia (NE Italy), was studied to provide evidence of local glass production for that specific area in antiquity. These shards can be dated between the 1st and the 4th century AD. The chemical composition of glass samples was obtained using laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) that enables to quantify the concentration of major, minor, and trace elements needed to investigate provenance and compositional groups and sometimes to suggest a chronological frame of the samples. To ensure that the samples are homogeneous enough to perform accurate quantification, some of them were also analysed by instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA). Most of the chunks, working wastes, and artefact shards considered in this work exhibited similarities among them in terms of composition, which likely indicates that glass working activities were practised at the site of recovery. The analyses demonstrated the presence of both recycled glass and primary glass. Interestingly, the compositional data of raw primary glass point to both Syro-Palestinian and Egyptian regions as sourcing areas, confirming the role of the Roman city of Aquileia as a network node for the trade of goods. In addition, some particularly coloured glass fragments showed a composition typical of glass produced starting from the 1st or 2nd century AD, requiring specific types of furnaces and procedures for its manufacture, and suggesting the possibility of local highly-specialised production. The preliminary results of this work strengthen the hypothesis that Aquileia was a thriving centre, either for working primary glass or for glass recycling and production of objects with particular colours.
One hundred and ninety three glass fragments from the canabae in York were analysed (first to fourth centuries). They fall into six compositional groups: antimony colourless (Sb), high‐manganese ...(high‐Mn), low‐manganese (low‐Mn), mixed antimony and manganese (Sb–Mn), high iron, manganese and titanium (HIMT) and plant ash. Some groups represent production groups, some of which appear to be in limited supply in this western outpost, but are more prevalent elsewhere, and others reflect changing supply mechanisms. The majority of glasses fall into groups that demonstrate extensive recycling of glass. This has important implications for determining provenance using trace elements and isotopes.
This paper reports the chemical composition of 36 glass finds from Histria, Romania, mainly dated to the Late Antique period (4th–6th c. AD) obtained by Prompt Gamma Activation Analysis (PGAA) at the ...Budapest Neutron Centre (BNC). Histria glass fragments were identified as Série 2.1, Série 3.2, and Série 3.3 of Foy, HIMT, Roman, and Sb decolorized. Most of the analyzed objects were manufactured from glass originating in Egyptian primary workshops. These analytical results are an additional proof for the trade connection of Histria with the rest of the Roman Empire.
•PGAA analyses on selected Roman glass finds from Romania.•Various recipes typical for the Roman and Late Antique periods.•One plant ash glass find imported from the Sasanian Empire.
This paper ...reports the results of Prompt Gamma Activation Analysis (PGAA) analyses on 21 glass fragments discovered at Tropaeum Traiani, Carsium, Ulmetum, and Altinum, Constanţa County, Romania, dated to the 1st-6th c. AD. The chemical data indicate a broad palette of compositions: Sb-colorless, Mn-colorless, Sb-Mn colorless, typical blue-green Roman, Série 2.1 and Série 3.2 of Foy glass. A plant ash glass sample was identified – most likely a fragment of a vessel imported from the Sasanian Empire.
Opaque mosaic glass tesserae containing calcium antimonates from Ancient Messene, Greece (1st–4th century CE) were investigated by scanning electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy and X-ray ...diffraction. Both trigonal CaSb2O6 and cubic Ca2Sb2O7, with crystallite diameters below 1 μm, were identified as opacifying agents. To better understand ancient technologies, we prepared model glasses that were opacified by crystallisation via a secondary heat treatment, by direct crystallisation during the melting process, or by the addition of pre-reacted calcium antimonate to a base glass. We found that direct crystallisation replicated the antique glass artefacts most accurately.
We demonstrated that 0.2 wt% of nucleating agents like TiO2 and SnO2 already exert significant influence on the crystallisation behaviour of calcium antimonates. Secondary scattering centres such as silica and carbonates contribute to the optical appearance. Concurrently, we reproduced opaque white glass ceramics in a reconstructed, wood-fired, Roman-type glass furnace built by Wiesenberg (2014).
The purpose of this paper is to understand why manganese containing Roman glass could be purple or colourless in spite of having very similar chemical compositions. The strategy followed to tackle ...this question consists in the production of glass with the same chemical composition as Roman glass whereby various production parameters were controlled and systematically analysed. It is shown that redox and colour of glass is more likely to have been managed through internal control through the choice of raw materials and the addition of organic matter. The main difference between ancient and modern glass production relies on the lower melting temperature of Roman furnaces, so that sulphate would have played a less important role in the redox determination.
•Roman glass with similar chemical composition can be either purple or colourless.•An excess of manganese compared to iron causes a glass to be purple or colourless depending on the initial raw materials.•At modern melting temperatures, sulphates govern the iron redox ratio but not at Roman glass furnace temperatures (1200°C).•Carbon is the most efficient reducing agent and its effect cannot be compensated by sulphates or oxidising agents.
The present paper focuses on the archaeological, chemical and isotopic characterisation of glass finds from the Domus of Tito Macro (former Domus dei Fondi Cossar) in Aquileia (Italy), dated between ...the 1st and the 7th century AD. The assemblage comprises both vessels and glassworking residues, including a few chunks. Aims of the study are the identification of the main glass compositions and their contextualisation in Roman and Late Antique reference groups, and of provenance of primary glass. Chemical analyses were conducted by XRF and EPMA. All the analysed fragments are silica-soda-lime glasses, produced with natron as a flux, and are compositionally similar to the Roman coloured (intentionally and unintentionally) and colourless (antimony-, manganese-, and antimony + manganese-decoloured) groups and to the Late Antique groups HIMT, Série 3.2 and Levantine 1. Specific compositional traits of HIMT glass circulating in the north-Adriatic area and a scarcity of Levantine 1 glass are evidenced. The presence of rare HIT blue glasses including a chunk suggests that colouring took place also at primary stage of production. Sr and Nd isotopic analyses, performed on a selection of samples, confirmed the eastern Mediterranean origin of the glasses, although with minor internal differences depending on the compositional group. Chemical and isotopic data suggest a continuity between the Roman and Late Antique glassmaking in terms of sand deposits and sand/flux ratio, although with a major change in the decolouring technique after the 4th century AD. The prompt reception of the Late Antique glass compositions took place in Aquileia alongside the persistence of earlier compositions, probably with the aim of satisfying different segments of the glass market.
•Seven compositional groups are identified and discussed.•Types and compositions are dated from Roman to early Medieval times.•The transition from Roman to Late Antique glass in Aquileia is investigated.•The glass provenance is investigated by means of isotopic analysis.•The continuity between Roman and Late Antique glass production is highlighted.
Se ha realizado una aproximación arqueométrica a un conjunto de vidrios romanos procedentes de Segobriga (Saelices, Cuenca) con el propósito de conocer sus peculiaridades tecnológicas, las ...características de las materias primas y su estado de conservación. Mediante el uso de técnicas químico-físicas convencionales (UV-Vis, FRX, MEBEC y EDS) se ha determinado que se trata de vidrios de silicato sódico cálcico a los que se aportó natrón mineral como fundente. El material es de gran calidad con respecto a otros vidrios hispanos debido a la selección de arenas ricas en cuarzo y pobres en impurezas de hierro. Además, los vidrieros usaron óxidos de manganeso y de antimonio para decolorar el vidrio. La materia prima procede probablemente del Mediterráneo Oriental y viajó a los talleres occidentales y del interior peninsular. Los vidrios han experimentado una degradación superficial causada por el ataque del agua durante el enterramiento y la acumulación de depósitos ricos en carbonatos.
This paper presents a comprehensive catalogue and review of the Roman glass from the Roma town of Isurium Brigantum (Aldborough, North Yorkshire). It includes the material found in work on the site ...in the 19
th
century as well as that from a variety of excavations down to the 1960s. This material now forms part of the English Heritage collection. The study provides new information about the supply of glass to the site. First century material is scarce, and the bulk of the vessels date to the 2
nd
-3
rd
centuries, with limited 4
th
century finds. Window glass, glass tesserae, beads and bangles are also present.
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