ARCHAEOMETRICAL INVESTIGATION OF SICILIAN EARLY BYZANTINE GLASS: CHEMICAL AND SPECTROSCOPIC DATA*

A series of early Byzantine glasses, recovered in Ganzirri (Sicily, Italy), was analysed for major, minor and trace elements. All the analysed fragments were found to be natron-based silica–lime glass. Concerning minor and trace elements, the samples can be divided into two groups: glass with high Fe, Ti and Mn contents (HIMT glass) and glass with low levels of Fe, Ti and Mn. These results, strictly in agreement with literature data for glass of the Mediterranean region, can be interpreted as a consequence of the wide trade network established in this region and of the intense circulation of raw glass and artefacts from different Mediterranean areas. X-ray absorption spectroscopy studies at Fe and Mn K-edges, performed on HIMT glass, indicate that Fe is in the oxidized form while Mn is in the reduced form.

[1]  A. Peccerillo,et al.  Spatially resolved and bulk trace element analysis by laser ablation - inductively coupled plasma - mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) , 2008 .

[2]  F. Farges,et al.  Speciation of Fe in silicate glasses and melts by in-situ XANES spectroscopy , 2007 .

[3]  A. Simionovici,et al.  Structural environment of iron in hydrous aluminosilicate glass and melt-evidence from X-ray absorption spectroscopy , 2006 .

[4]  Ian C. Freestone,et al.  Glass production in Late Antiquity and the Early Islamic period: a geochemical perspective , 2006, Geological Society, London, Special Publications.

[5]  M. Riccardi,et al.  The ancient glass production of the Medieval Val Gargassa glasshouse: Fe and Mn XANES study , 2005 .

[6]  F. Farges.  Ab initio and experimental pre-edge investigations of the Mn K-edge XANES in oxide-type materials , 2005 .

[7]  M. Menu,et al.  Archeological applications of XAFS: prehistorical paintings and medieval glasses , 2005 .

[8]  A. Simionovici,et al.  Water in silicate glasses and melts of environmental interest : from volcanoes to cathedrals , 2005 .

[9]  M. Wilke,et al.  Determination of the iron oxidation state in basaltic glasses using XANES at the K-edge , 2004 .

[10]  F. Farges,et al.  The effect of redox state on the local structural environment of iron in silicate glasses: A combined XAFS spectroscopy, molecular dynamics, and bond valence study , 2004 .

[11]  W. K. Kot,et al.  X-ray absorption studies of manganese valence and local environment in borosilicate waste glasses , 2003 .

[12]  K. D. Jayasuriya,et al.  XANES calibrations for the oxidation state of iron in a silicate glass , 2003 .

[13]  B. Velde,et al.  Change in silica sources in Roman and post-Roman glass ☆ , 2003 .

[14]  M. Thirlwall,et al.  Strontium isotopes in the investigation of early glass production: Byzantine and early islamic glass from the Near East , 2003 .

[15]  G. Pratesi,et al.  Iron local structure in tektites and impact glasses by extended X-ray absorption fine structure and high-resolution X-ray absorption near-edge structure spectroscopy , 2002 .

[16]  A. Sani,et al.  Fe and Mn K-edge XANES study of ancient Roman glasses , 2002 .

[17]  Ian C. Freestone,et al.  The origins of Byzantine glass from Maroni Petrera, Cyprus , 2002 .

[18]  M. Arrio,et al.  High-resolution XANES spectra of iron in minerals and glasses: structural information from the pre-edge region , 2001 .

[19]  E. Orsega,et al.  An analytical study of ferric ion in industrial glasses by EPR spectroscopy: quantitative determination and information on coordination state , 2000 .

[20]  Z. Wu,et al.  XANES studies of Fe-bearing glasses. , 1999, Journal of synchrotron radiation.

[21]  F. d’Acapito,et al.  X-ray Optics of a Dynamical Sagittal-Focusing Monochromator on the GILDA Beamline at the ESRF. , 1996, Journal of synchrotron radiation.

[22]  D. Günther,et al.  Inter-laboratory note. Laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometric transient signal data acquisition and analyte concentration calculation , 1996 .

[23]  K. H. Wedepohl,et al.  The Composition of the Continental Crust , 1995 .

[24]  A. Casoli,et al.  SCIENTIFIC ANALYSIS OF ROMAN GLASS FROM AUGUSTA PRAETORIA , 1993 .

[25]  Julian Henderson,et al.  THE RAW MATERIALS OF EARLY GLASS PRODUCTION , 1985 .

[26]  G. Calas,et al.  Structure of oxide glasses : spectroscopic studies of local order and crystallochemistry. Geochemical implications , 1983 .

[27]  M. Apted,et al.  X-ray K-edge absorption spectra of Fe minerals and model compounds: Near-edge structure , 1983 .

[28]  J. Tossell,et al.  The Electronic Structure of Rutile, Wustite, and Hematite from Molecular Orbital Calculations , 1974 .

[29]  D. G. Watson,et al.  Zinc-65 in Marine Organisms along the Oregon and Washington Coasts , 1961, Science.

[30]  E. Sayre,et al.  Compositional Categories of Ancient Glass , 1961, Science.

[31]  E. Dusenbery,et al.  Roman Glass from Dated Finds , 1961 .