Archaeological and chemical variability of glass beads: olive and fusiform beads in central Europe
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2023 |
| Type | Article in Periodical |
| Magazine / Source | Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Web | https://doi.org/10.1007/s12520-023-01717-4 |
| Doi | http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12520-023-01717-4 |
| Keywords | Glass beads; Early middle ages; Central Europe; Soda glass; Recycled glass; Glass-working |
| Description | The distribution of olive and fusiform beads, geographically limited to Bohemia, Moravia (Czech Republic), Bavaria (Germany) and its surrounding area in the eighth–tenth centuries, suggests local central European glass-working. Archaeological differences in regional preference for olive or fusiform beads, typological details and their not entirely synchronous occurrence point to their production in several workshops. LA-ICP-MS analyses of 76 beads show that most of the beads were made from recycled soda-lime-silica natron glass of the older Roman tradition and Late Antique tradition, including Roman Mn, Mn-Sb, HIMT and Foy 2.1/2.2 subgroups, and contemporary glass from Egypt (so-called Egypt 2). Only isolated finds of olive beads from Bohemia were made from Islamic plant ash and western European wood ash glass. The reuse of glasses of different opacity and multiple colours was investigated by SEM-EDS on four beads. The present paper raises the question of glass sources for local glass-working in central Europe and contributes to the study of reuse and recycling of glass in this part of Europe. |
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