The First Thousand Years of Glass-Making in the Ancient near East : : Compositional Analyses of Late Bronze and Iron Age Glasses.

• Author: Reade, Wendy.
• Place / Publishing House: Oxford : : Archaeopress,, 2021.; ©2021.
• Year of Publication: 2021
• Language: English
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (274 pages)

This volume explores glass composition and production from the mid-second to mid-first millennia BC, the first thousand years of glass-making. Multi-element analyses of 132 glasses from Pella in Jordan, and Nuzi and Nimrud in Iraq (ancient Mesopotamia) produce new and important data that provide ins...

Table of Contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright page
• Contents
• List of Figures
• Chapter 1
• Figure 1-1 Map of the eastern Mediterranean region. Adapted from Tatton-Brown and Andrews 1991: 2
• Chapter 2
• Figure 2-1 Scanning electron micrograph of Pella sample 188, a turquoise opaque bead. Dark grey areas are weathered glass which form along microscopic cracks in the glass. White grains are the opacifying compound calcium antimonate. The scale bar represe
• Figure 2-2 Scanning electron micrograph of Pella sample 79, from a turquoise bead opacified with calcium antimonate, visible as the white crystalline phase. The scale bar represents ~200μm.
• Figure 2-3 Light micrograph of Pella sample 195 from a turquoise bead opacified with calcium antimonate, visible as white inclusions. Sample size is ~ 3mm across.
• Figure 2-4 Scanning electron micrograph of Pella sample 55, a dark green glass, showing streams of small bubbles, several larger individual bubbles along the lower region, and four large dark grey silica grains which are incompletely melted and exhibit d
• Figure 2-5 Light micrograph of Pella sample 199 from a turquoise bead opacified with calcium antimonate. Streaks of less well opacified glass due to incomplete mixing or formation of the opacifier can be seen. Sample size is ~ 2.5 mm across.
• Figure 2-6 Light micrograph Pella 189 from a blue translucent bead. Bubbles are dispersed throughout the glass. Sample size is ~ 3mm across.
• Figure 2-7 Light micrograph of Nimrud glass samples, cobalt wire (centre top) with a standard reference glass on either side, set in an epoxy resin stub, 25mm in diameter, and polished for SEM-EDS analysis.
• Figure 2-8 Photograph of Nuzi glass samples with standard reference glass (centre) set in a pre-prepared epoxy resin stub, 20mm in diameter, and polished for EPMA analysis.
• Chapter 3.
• Figure 3-1 Satellite map showing location of Nuzi between the Tigris River and the River Zab, in ancient Mesopotamia (modern Iraq), adapted from Google Earth.
• Figure 3-2 Plan of city of Nuzi, adapted from Starr (1939), Plan 2, highlighting the size and position of the Temple and Palace, where most of the glass was found.
• Figure 3-3 Plan of Temple A and immediate environs. Most of the glass was found in G29 and G50. Adapted from Starr (1939), Plan 13.
• Figure 3-5 Nuzi 1930.82.10 blue translucent vessel fragment (thickness 3 mm)
• Figure 3-4 Nuzi 1930.66.90 half turquoise cylinder bead (diameter 12 mm)
• Figure 3-6 Nuzi 1930.82.55 blue translucent vessel? Fragment (thickness ~4 mm)
• Figure 3-7 Scatter plot of magnesia vs potash in wt% oxide for Nuzi glasses. * indicates reduced composition in this and all following plots.
• Figure 3-8 Scatter plot of alumina vs iron in wt% oxide for Nuzi glasses.
• Figure 3-9 Scatter plot of lime vs magnesia in wt% oxide for Nuzi glasses.
• Figure 3-10 Scatter plot of magnesia vs potash in wt% oxide for high- and low-lime groups of Nuzi glass showing a powerful positive correlation in the low-lime group and no correlation in the high-lime group.
• Figure 3-11 Line plot of the REE of individual Nuzi glasses (sample numbers given) showing similarity of pattern. A logarithmic scale was used. Data are normalised to MUQ.
• Figure 3-12 Line plot of averaged REE from Nuzi glass. Data are normalised to MUQ. A logarithmic scale is used.
• Figure 3-13 Line plot of averaged Nuzi REE data and MUQ REE data both normalised to average chondrites for comparison (chondrite data from Sun and McDonough (1989), reproduced in Table 27 of Normalisers)
• Figure 3-14 Line plot of the averaged REE normalised to MUQ for high- and low-lime groups.
• Figure 3-15 Line plot of the averaged concentrations of sediment-related trace elements in Nuzi glasses, normalised to MUQ. A logarithmic scale is used. Mo is not plotted as there is no MUQ value by which to normalise it. The dotted line crosses the Y-ax
• Figure 3-16 Line plot of raw Nuzi sediment-related trace element data in ppb compared with MUQ on a logarithmic scale.
• Figure 3-17 Line plot comparing averaged raw concentrations of sediment-related trace elements in the high and low lime groups. A logarithmic scale is used. Calculation of averages for W omits sample 28 and for Tl omits sample 26 because they are outlier
• Figure 3-18 Line plot of averaged raw data for Nuzi alkali and alkaline earth elements compared with MUQ. Note logarithmic scale.
• Figure 3-19 Line plot of averaged Nuzi alkali and alkaline earth trace elements normalised to MUQ, on a logarithmic scale. The dotted line represents the approximate sedimentary background signal as determined by the ratios of Nuzi REE to MUQ REE, at 0.0
• Figure 3-20 Line plot of averaged raw data for low- and high-lime groups of Nuzi glass. A logarithmic scale is used.
• Figure 3-21 Line plot of averaged raw colourant and related elements in Nuzi opaque and translucent glasses, and MUQ, from ICP-MS data. A logarithmic scale is used to avoid compression. There is no MUQ value for Sb and Cd.
• Figure 3-22 Scatter plot of Cu vs Sn in ppm for Nuzi glasses, excluding sample 16 which has an exceptionally high Sn content.
• Figure 3-23 Scatter plot of Pb vs Ni for Nuzi glasses.
• Figure 3-24 Line plot comparing averaged raw data for colourant elements in high- and low-lime glasses.
• Figure 3-25 Scatter plot of CaO* vs Sb for Nuzi glasses.
• Chapter 4.
• Figure 4-2 Contour map of site of Pella indicating excavation areas referred to in text. Reproduced courtesy of the Pella Excavation Project.
• Figure 4-3 Three phases of the Migdol Temple, Area XXXII, showing the location in the Holy of Holies of two important LBA glass objects, an ingot (sample 86) and a disk pendant (not sampled). Plans adapted from Bourke 2004: Fig. 3.
• Figure 4-4 Plan of Tomb 62, in Area XI, adapted from Potts et al. 1985: 193.
• Figure 4-5 Plan of Tomb 89, in Area II. Adapted from a plan provided courtesy of the Pella Excavation Project. Red Xs mark the positions in which the glasses were found.
• Figure 4-6 Pella 190083 blue translucent tetrahedral ingot (Image courtesy of the Pella Excavation Project)
• Figure 4-7 Pella 990598 turquoise opaque pendant disc with lug (Image courtesy of the Pella Excavation Project)
• Figure 4-10 Pella 70505 turquoise opaque biconical bead
• Figure 4-11 Pella 70845 blue translucent pinhead showing fresh glass under weathered surface.
• Figure 4-8 Pella 70746 blue translucent annular bead
• Figure 4-9 Pella 70579D turquoise opaque annular bead
• Figure 4-12 Pella 70948 turquoise opaque annular bead
• Figure 4-13 Pella 70833 pale turquoise opaque annular bead
• Figure 4-14 Pella 70843 turquoise opaque flattened spherical bead
• Figure 4-15 Pella 70342 blue translucent barrel bead
• Figure 4-16 Pella 70491 blue translucent biconical bead
• Figure 4-17 Pella 70483 blue translucent spacer bead
• Figure 4-18 Pella 70391 turquoise opaque annular bead
• Figure 4-19 Pella 70355D turquoise opaque spacer bead (end view showing unweathered core).
• Figure 4-20 Scatter plot of magnesia vs potash (wt% oxide) for the Pella HMHK glasses compared with the Nuzi HMHK glasses showing similar oxide concentrations from both sites. Note that the correlation between the concentrations of the oxides is strong f
• Figure 4-21 Scatter plot of alumina vs iron (wt % oxide) with three outliers removed revealing a strong correlation between these oxides, though it is not as strong as is found in the Nuzi glasses. The rectangular outline represents the range in which th
• Figure 4-22 Scatter plot of lime vs magnesia (wt % oxide) for Nuzi and Pella HMHK glasses showing the existence at both sites of the same two lime-related groups.
• Figure 4-23 Scatter plot of lime vs magnesia (wt % oxide) for opaque and translucent Pella HMHK glasses.
• Figure 4-24 Scatter plot of magnesia vs potash (wt % oxide) for high and low lime groups of the Pella HMHK glasses showing a lack of correlation in both, contrary to the good correlation found in the low-lime group of glasses from Nuzi (section 3.2).
• Figure 4-25 Line plot of the REE of individual Pella HMHK glasses showing general similarity of pattern. A logarithmic scale is used. Data are normalised to MUQ.
• Figure 4-26 Line plot comparing averaged Pella HMHK REE data and MUQ REE data both normalised to average chondrites for comparison (chondrite data from Sun and McDonough 1989, reproduced in Table 27)
• Figure 4-27 Line plot of the averaged translucent and opaque glass REE from Pella HMHK glasses compared with those from Nuzi glasses. Data are normalised to MUQ. A logarithmic scale is used.
• Figure 4-28 Line plot of the averaged concentrations of sediment-related trace elements in Pella HMHK glasses, normalised to MUQ. A logarithmic scale is used. Mo is not plotted as there is no MUQ value by which to normalise it. The dotted line crosses the.
• Figure 4-29 Line plot comparing averaged raw concentrations of sediment-related trace elements in opaque and translucent Pella HMHK glasses with MUQ. A logarithmic scale is used.