Document - An archaeometric contribution to the interpretation of blue-green glass beads from Iron age Central Italy

2023

Journal article Open Access

An archaeometric contribution to the interpretation of blue-green glass beads from Iron age Central Italy

Yatsuk O., Koch L., Gorghinian A., Fiocco G., Davit P., Giannossa L. C., Mangone A., Francone S., Serges A., Re A., Lo Giudice A., Ferretti M., Malagodi M., Iaia C., Gulmini M.

Spectroscopy Iron age Archaeological glass Conservation LA-ICP-MS FORS XRF Chemistry (miscellaneous) Materials Science (miscellaneous) Archeology Glass beads Computer Science Applications Late bronze age

Several types of (mostly) blue-green glass beads from Iron-Age archaeological sites in Central Italy were studied using a range of spectroscopic techniques: portable X-Ray Fluorescence spectrometry, Fibre Optics Reflectance Spectroscopy, Scanning Electron Microscopy coupled with Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectrometry, micro-Raman spectroscopy and Laser Ablation Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry. Complementary information was gathered from each technique and discussed in the frame of the archaeological typology of the objects. The systematic evaluation of the results allowed us to draw some conclusions on the raw materials employed for primary production and to highlight some provenance indicators in the glass. Some of the beads found in the Iron Age (IA) contexts were preliminarily attributed to the Final Bronze Age (FBA) production based on their typology, and the compositional data obtained in this work confirmed that they were low magnesium high potassium (LMHK) glass, typical of FBA in the Italian peninsula. Other beads were assigned to low magnesium glass (LMG) or high magnesium glass (HMG), thus giving further information on the fluxing agents employed in the Early Iron Age (EIA) and beyond. Colour variations among the beads reflected their chemical composition, with different bead typologies coloured in a specific way. In some instances, it was possible to establish different origins for the colouring raw materials. The provenance of the samples was difficult to place, but the chemical evidence suggested a subdivision within the raw glass used to produce the beads: for one set of samples, a local origin of the glass could be hypothesised, whereas several production sites in the Near East were suggested for most of the beads considered in this study. Some preliminary clues for the local working of imported glass were also highlighted for one typological group.

Source: Heritage Science 11 (2023): 1–26. doi:10.1186/s40494-023-00952-1

Publisher: Chemical Central, London

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@article{oai:it.cnr:prodotti:487944,
	title = {An archaeometric contribution to the interpretation of blue-green glass beads from Iron age Central Italy},
	author = {Yatsuk O. and Koch L. and Gorghinian A. and Fiocco G. and Davit P. and Giannossa L. C. and Mangone A. and Francone S. and Serges A. and Re A. and Lo Giudice A. and Ferretti M. and Malagodi M. and Iaia C. and Gulmini M.},
	publisher = {Chemical Central, London},
	doi = {10.1186/s40494-023-00952-1},
	journal = {Heritage Science},
	volume = {11},
	pages = {1–26},
	year = {2023}
}