UCL
Institute of Archaeology
ARCLG111
Archaeological Glass and Glazes
15 credit unit in Term II, 2015-16
Lectures Mondays 09.00-11.00, Room B13
Turnitin Class ID: 2969951
Turnitin Password IoA1516
Co-ordinator: Ian Freestone
i.freestone@ucl.ac.uk
020 7679 (2)7498
Office Hours: Thursday 14.00-1600, Room 210
Please see the last page of this document for important information about submission and
marking procedures, or links to the relevant webpages.
ARCLG111 Archaeological Glass and Glazes
1
OVERVIEW
Short description
The course outlines the development of the production of glass and glazes from the
Bronze Age through to the early modern period, with examples from a wide range of
periods and cultures. All aspects of glass production are considered from raw materials
through to the fabrication of beads, vessels and windows. Attention is drawn to the
relationship between form and technology and the development of glassmaking
ingredients over time. Particular emphasis is placed upon the chemical composition of
glass, how and why it changes with time, and how it can be used to address problems
such as provenance and dating. The course is well illustrated with examples of glass
working from the literature, experimental archaeology and ethnographic observations.
While archaeometric analyses form a key element of the course they are introduced in a
user friendly way so that they are understandable by participants with an arts/humanities
background.
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G111 Course Schedule (Term 2, 2014-15, Mondays 09.00-11.00)
Week
1. 11 January
Title
Nature and
Properties of Glass
Contents
Atomic Structure. Raw materials and composition. Melting, fluxes,
properties. Terminology. Colour. Corrosion.
Glassmakers of Herat video (Corning Museum of Glass). Generalised
chaîne operatoire.
2. 18 January
Late Bronze Age
vitreous materials
Early vitreous materials, Egyptian Blue and faience. Early glazed pottery.
Origins of glass.
Late Bronze Age glass. Core-forming. Colour and opacity. Egypt,
Mesopotamia.
3. 25 January
4. 1 February
Pre-and early
Roman glass –
trade and
technological
change
Continuity from the LBA. Early natron glass. Slumping, canework.
Origins of blowing. Roman glass. Colour, decolourants, opacifiers.
The mature natron
glass industry:
production and
composition
Tank furnaces. Primary and secondary production. Trade in raw glass.
Roman glassmaking experiment video *
Interpreting natron glass through chemical compositions. Glass groups.
The structure of the Roman glass industry.
M-D Nenna Egypt excavations video*
5. 8 February
Byzantine,
Sassanian and
Islamic glass
Byzantine coloured glass; tin-opacification, gold glass. Continuity in the
East. Parthian and Sassanian glass. The change from natron to plant
ash. Early Islamic glass. Lustre decoration. Enameled glass. Dynamic
enameling.
Issue of data analysis exercise (assessment 2)
Gold glass beads video (James Lankton)*
Reading week
15-19 February
NO TEACHING
6. 22 February
Ceramic Glazes
Clay glazes, alkaline and lead glazes. Islamic glazed wares; stonepaste
bodies, tin opacification and the spread of tin-glaze technology. Lustre
decoration. Overglaze and underglaze decoration.
7. 29 February
Far eastern glass,
glazes and vitreous
pigments
India, raw glass, beads and mirrors; compositions and trade
China: Early high temperature glazes; porcelain development. Early
Chinese glass, Han Blue, Han Purple. Interactions between glass and
ceramics. Parallels and contrasts China and West.
Papanaidupet video (Marie-Dominique Nenna)*
8. 7 March
9. 14 March
Enamels on
metalwork, early
medieval (postRoman) glass.
Recycling and re-use. Trace elements. Anglo-Saxon glass. San
Vincenzo.
Medieval Europe
Early soda plant ash glass in northwestern Europe. Potash-lime glass
industry. Stained glass windows. .
Turkish Bead-makers video (Marie-Dominique Nenna)*
Answers to data analysis exercise
10. 21 March
Renaissance and
later glass; fakes
and forgeries
Crystal glass and vitrum blanchum. Venetian, English, Bohemian crystal.
Compositional change. Solvay process; saltcake glass. Trade beads and
European expansion. Windows and portable XRF. Nineteenth century
historicism and “fakes”.
Please note: The details of this schedule (third column) may be adjusted as the course progresses. Videos marked with
an asterisk (*) depend upon the time available
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Basic texts
The following books are good starters and references:
Bowman, S., Ed, 1991, Science and the Past.
Henderson, J., Ed., 1989, Scientific Analysis in Archaeology.
Pollard, M. & Heron, C., 1996, Archaeological Chemistry.
Shortland, A. J. 2012, Lapis Lazuli from the Kiln: Glass and Glassmaking in the Late
Bronze Age. Leuven University Press.
Tait, H., 1991, Five Thousand Years of Glass. British Museum Press, London. A very well
illustrated and well written collection of chronological chapters, including glass
working techniques.
Methods of assessment
The course is assessed by an essay of 2850-3150 words (worth 75% of the total mark) plus a data
interpretation exercise of 950-1050 words (worth 25%). Essay titles are given below; the data
assessment exercise will be provided in week 5.
If you are unclear about the nature of an assignment, please contact the Course Co-ordinator. If
you wish to discuss essay topics or prepare a brief (single-page maximum) outline of how you
intend to approach the essay prior to writing the essay, I will be happy to discuss this.
Teaching methods
The course is taught primarily through the lectures delivered in the Monday sessions. As much of
the primary information comprises numerical or graphical information, an assessed data
interpretation exercise is set are set to ensure engagement with this type of information. Where
appropriate and available, video recordings of ethnographic and/or archaeological work will be
shown to illustrate the concepts covered in the course. Optional visits to the Petrie and British
Museum will allow further opportunity to familiarise students with the course subject matter. The
timings of these visits will be arranged at the beginning of term.
Workload
There will be 20 hours of lectures for this course. Students will be expected to undertake around
80 hours of reading for the course, plus 50 hours preparing for and producing the assessed work.
This adds up to a total workload of some 150 hours for this course.
Optional visits to Museums will, if possible, be arranged for times convenient to those registered
on the course.
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2
AIMS, OBJECTIVES AND ASSESSMENT
Aims
The course aims to provide an understanding of the broad development and spread of
glass, glazes and vitreous pigments in their archaeological contexts from the Late Bronze
Age up to the early modern period. It will introduce the technologies of glassmaking and
glazing and their development over time. This includes an introduction to the concept of
glass as a specific type of material, with specific properties. The course aims to illustrate
how the production and use of glass in society is related to its chemical composition and
properties and how these relationships changed over time. To do this the course strives
to convey some of the basic chemical and physical processes relevant to the making,
working and scientific analysis of glass and other vitreous materials such as glazes and
synthetic pigments, following a broad chronological outline. A critical approach is
encouraged by the inclusion of current research topics where there may be no universally
accepted opinion, and where thinking is in flux as progress is being made.
Objectives
On successful completion of the course students will:

Have a general understanding of glass as a material, glass raw materials and glass
production

Have a general understanding of the chronological development of glass forms and their
relationship to technology and cultural context

Have developed an understanding of compositional data on glass in tabular and graphical
forms and be able to interpret the general technological and chronological significance of
individual glass compositions (assessment 1)

Be able to read, critically evaluate and synthesise evidence on early glass production from
a range of approaches, including archaeometric analysis (assessment 2)

Be able to recognise relevant evidence such as moils, industrial ceramics and other
production waste.
Coursework
The two pieces of assessed work required for this course are given below. If you are unclear
about the nature of an assignment, please contact the Course Co-ordinator. If you wish to discuss
essay topics or prepare a brief (single-page maximum) outline of how you intend to approach the
essay prior to writing the essay, I will be happy to comment on this.
Word counts
All submitted work should include a word-count. The following are not included in the word-count:
title page, contents pages, lists of figure and tables, abstract, preface, acknowledgements,
bibliography, lists of references, captions and contents of tables and figures, appendices.
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Penalties will only be imposed if you exceed the upper figure in the range. There is no penalty for
using fewer words than the lower figure in the range: the lower figure is simply for your guidance to
indicate the sort of length that is expected.
General policies and procedures concerning courses and coursework, including submission
procedures, assessment criteria, and general resources, are available in your Degree Handbook
and on the following website: http://wiki.ucl.ac.uk/display/archadmin. It is essential that you read
and comply with these.
Assessment 1. Data Interpretation exercise
This will comprise a table of analyses of ten examples of ancient glass. You will be asked to
produce a paper of 950-1050 words commenting on the likely raw materials, colour and
chronology of each glass. The information needed to complete the exercise will be provided in the
classes over weeks 1 -5. It is advisable to attend all the classes to optimize your result. There is
no single source or textbook which deals with all of the issues. The exercise will be provided in
Week 5 (8 February) and the submission date is Friday 26 February 2016. This exercise
represents 25% of the assessment for the course.
Assessment 2. Essay
A 2850-3150 word essay comprises 75% of the assessment for this course. The deadline for
submission via Turnitin and in hard copy is Friday 29 April 2015. You may choose from one of the
titles listed below. Several references are provided as a starting point for your research into the
topic. However, they may be neither the most recent nor the most pertinent research papers but
simply pointers to the types of evidence or to the work of certain authors. You will need to
research your essay using bibliographies and reference lists from books and articles as well as online tools such as Web of Science and Google Scholar. Academia.edu and Researchgate.net are
useful source of references from key authors such as Henderson, Jackson and Rehren. You are
encouraged to register with those sites as the authors post pdf files of papers which are not
available electronically elsewhere. You should design your searches carefully and search for
authors as well as topics. A good answer is likely to include a range of references to the up-todate literature as well as to older publications which set the topic in context.
A range of evidence is expected to be drawn upon which, dependent upon topic, might include
archaeological, historical, archaeometric, experimental, materials science or ethnographic
sources. Maps, graphs and tables are useful as they condense a great deal of information into a
single item which is not part of the wordcount. I would expect to see the use of graphic or
tabulated evidence in answers to most of the essay questions. Each should have a caption and
be numbered sequentially as Fig 1, Fig 2…. or Table 1, Table 2 ……. Photographic images, plans
and line drawings should also be labelled and captioned as Figs.. The origins of the images
should be credited in the captions.
Essay Titles
1. Outline and discuss the evidence for the independent production of glass and faience from their
raw materials in Europe (including Italy) in the Bronze Age
Artioli, G., & Angelini, I. (2009). Evolution of vitreous materials in Bronze Age Italy. Modern
Methods for Analysing Archaeological and Historical Glass, Volume I, 355-368.
Jackson, C. M., & Wager, E. C. (2008). Vitreous materials in the late Bronze Age Aegean. Oxbow
Books Limited.
6
Sheridan, A., Eremin, K., & Shortland, A. (2004) Understanding Bronze Age Faience in Britain and
Ireland. In Materials Issues in Art and Archaeology VII. Materials Research Society Proceedings
Vol. 852, pp. OO7-2.
2. Explain how cobalt pigment varies in composition in ancient glass and glaze, and using
examples from different periods, cultures and regions, explain how its composition has
been used in investigations of its provenance
Henderson J (2003) Localised production or trade? Advances in the study of cobalt blue and
Islamic glasses in the Levant and Europe. 227-245 in L van Zelst (ed) Patterns and Processes A
Festschrift in honour of Dr Edward V Sayre. Smithsonian Institution
Gratuze, B., Soulier, I., Barrandon, J.-N. and Foy, D. (1995) The origin of cobalt blue pigments in
French glass from the thirteenth to the eighteenth centuries. In Trade and Discovery (D R Hook
and D R M Gaimster, eds). British Museum Occasional Paper 109, 123-133.
Shortland A.J., Tite M.S., Ewart I. (2006) Ancient Exploitation and Use of Cobalt Alums from the
Western Oases of Egypt, Archaeometry, 48, 153-168.
Wood N., Tite M. S., Doherty C.and Gilmore B. (2007) A technological examination of ninth–tenth
century AD Abbasid blue-and-white ware from Iraq, and its comparison with eighth century AD
Chinese blue-and-white sancai ware, Archaeometry 49, 665-684
3. Outline the evidence for the occurrence, use and fabrication method(s) of glass windows in the
Roman Empire.
Allen D (2002) Roman Window Glass in Aldhouse-Green, M and Webster, P. Artefacts and
Archaeology: aspects of the Celtic and Roman World, Cardiff pp 102-111.
DeLaine J (1997). The Baths of Caracalla. Journal of Roman Archaeology Supplement (Book)
Ring J W (1996) Windows, Baths, and Solar Energy in the Roman Empire American Journal of
Archaeology, 100, 717-724
4. Summarise and discuss the evidence for the composition, origins and manufacture of glass and
glass beads in sub-Saharan Africa
Dussubieux, L., Kusimba, C. M., Gogte, V., Kusimba, S. B., Gratuze, B., and Oka, R., (2008), The
trading of ancient glass beads: new analytical data from South Asian and East African soda–
alumina glass beads, Archaeometry, 50, 797–821
Lankton, J., Ige, A. & Rehren, Th. (2006). Early primary glass production in southern Nigeria.
Journal of African Archaeology 4, 111-138.
Robertshaw P, Weise C, Dussubieux L, Lankton J, Popelka-Filcoff R S, Glascock M D (2009)
Chemical Analysis of Glass from Nupe, Nigeria. TRIBUS 58, 83-95.
5. Outline the development of lead crystal glass in the late seventeenth century. To what extent
was “English” lead crystal glass an English innovation?
Dungworth D & Brain C (2009) Late 17th-Century Crystal Glass: An Analytical Investigation.
Journal of Glass Studies 51, 111-137.
Macleod C (1987) Accident or design? George Ravenscroft’s patent and the invention of lead
crystal glass. Technology and Culture 28, 776-803.
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Moody B E (1988) Life of George Ravenscroft. Glass Technology 29, 198-209.
Moretti C and Zecchin P (2009). English lead crystal and Ravenscroft’s formulation: additional
information from Venetian sources. Annales du 17e Congrès de l’AIHV, 431-434.
6. How was kelp produced and what is the evidence for its use in glass making?
Dungworth D (2012) Three and a half centuries of bottle glass manufacture. Industrial
Archaeology Review, 34, 37–50.
Dungworth, D, Degryse P, and Schneider J (2009) Kelp in historic glass: the application of
strontium isotope analysis. Isotopes in Vitreous Materials (eds P Degryse, J Henderson and G
Hodgkins) 113-130.
McErlean T C (2007) Archaeology of the Strangford Lough Kelp Industry in the Eighteenth- and
Early- Nineteenth Centuries. Historical Archaeology, Vol. 41, 76-93
Rymer L (1974) The Scottish kelp industry, Scottish Geographical Magazine, 90:3, 142-152
3. SYLLABUS AND READING.
Suggested reading of relevance throughout the course:
The journal Archaeometry regularly has good-quality papers on glass and related topics, as has
the Journal of Archaeological Science. The conference proceedings of the Association
Internationale de l’Histoire du Verre (AIHV) (see web address below) are another good way to
keep on top of current developments, and to research about all things glassy. Finally, the Journal
of Glass Studies is the trade journal of the academic glass history profession, and offers
archaeological, art historical and scientific papers on the subject.
You should also be familiar with Google Scholar, reached through the “More” dropdown menu on
the Google search page. Use of appropriate keywords will take you to the majority of current
literature in the area that you are researching.
A major collection of papers, covering a range of topics is:
Janssens K. (2013) Modern Methods for Analysing Archaeological and Historical Glass. Wiley.
Available on line.
Over 700 pages and 30 chapters chapters focussing on the scientific aspects of glass, many of
which are pertinent to the course and by well-known researchers. Available on-line through the
library. Even so, take care. Books of this nature are not always comprehensively refereed and
may not always be fully representative. You should always find a second source to confirm what
you read.
Session 1. Nature and properties of Glass
In this session we discuss glass as a material – how does it differ from other materials and what
are its special properties? What are the essential components of glass and why does glass have
such a characteristic range of compositions? Why are some glasses clear and transparent, others
coloured and some opaque? Why does glass corrode and how does it affect our archaeological
understanding? We will watch a video about a traditional glass workshop in Afghanistan and
discuss what it tells us about the raw materials, the chaîne opératoire, the workshop and the
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working conditions of the craftspeople. We will also introduce some of the basic methods of
chemical analysis.
Key background reading
Freestone, I. (1991) Looking into glass. In: Bowman, S., Ed, Science and the Past, p. 37-56.
Henderson, J., (1989) The scientific analysis of ancient glass and its archaeological interpretation.
In: J. Henderson, Ed., Scientific Analysis in Archaeology, p. 30-62.
Pollard, M. & Heron, C., (2008) Archaeological Chemistry, Chapter 5: The chemistry and corrosion
of archaeological glass.
Bibliography
Brill RH (1962) A note on the scientists definition of glass. Journal of Glass Studies. 4 127-138
http://www.cmog.org/library/note-scientists-definitionglass?search=scientific_research%3A72862f7247bd24fef289dc3b57cc9c2e&page=81
Brill R. H. and Wosinski J. F. (1991) Physical properties of early Chinese glass. In Brill R H . and J.
H. Martin, eds. (1991) Scientific Research in Early Chinese Glass New York, Corning Museum of
Glass pp 109-117.
Freestone, I (2001). Post-depositional Changes in Archaeological Ceramics and Glasses. In: Don
R. Brothwell and A. Mark Pollard, eds. Handbook of Archaeological Sciences. Chichester: Wiley,
615-625.
Ponting, M. (2004) The scanning electron microscope and the Archaeologist. Physics Education
vol 39 issue 2 pp 166-170
Sax M., Meeks N. D. and Collon D. (2000), ‘The introduction of the lapidary engraving wheel in
Mesopotamia’, Antiquity, 74(284), pp. 380-387
Schreurs, J. & Brill, R., (1984), Iron and sulphur related colors in ancient glasses. Archaeometry
26, 199-209.
Schreiner M, Melcher M and Uhlir K (2007) Scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive
analysis: applications in the field of cultural heritage. Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry 387,
737-747
Turner, W.E.S., (1959) A study of the opalising agents in ancient opal glass throughout thre
thousand four hundred years. Glasstechnische Berichte 32K, VIII 17-VIII 28 (see me for a copy).
Weyl, W. (1976), Coloured glasses. Sheffield, SGT.
Session 2 Bronze Age Vitreous Materials
There are a number of Near Eastern precursors to glass in the strict sense. These so-called
vitreous materials are made from essentially the same components as glass but combined in
different proportions using different production technologies. The best known of these are
Egyptian blue and faience and they will be discussed in the present session. We will then move
on to Late Bronze Age glass, core-forming and colourants.
Key background reading:
Nicholson, Paul T., 2009, Faience Technology. In Willeke Wendrich (ed.), UCLA Encyclopedia of
Egyptology, Los Angeles. Download pdf from: http://escholarship.org/uc/item/9cs9x41z
9
Nicholson, P. (2011). Glass Working, Use and Discard. UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology, 1(1).
Download pdf from: http://escholarship.org/uc/item/2w17t0cw
Shortland, Andrew, 2009, Glass Production. In Willeke Wendrich (ed.), UCLA Encyclopedia of
Egyptology, Los Angeles. Download pdf from: http://escholarship.org/uc/item/4jv3f665
Tait, H., (1991), Five Thousand Years of Glass. British Museum Press, London
Bibliography
Brill R. H.(1970) The chemical interpretation of the texts. In A.L. Oppenheim, R.H. Brill, D. Barag
and A. von Saldern Glass and Glassmaking in Ancient Mesopotamia. (New York, Corning
Museum of Glass, 1970) 105-128. Download pdf from www.cmog.org – search the Rakow Library
catalogue on “Brill”
Degryse P., Boyce A., Erb-Satullo N., Eremin K., Kirk S., Scott R., Shortland A. J., Schneider J.
and Walton M. (2010) Isotopic discriminants between Late Bronze Age glasses from Egypt and
the Near East. Archaeometry 52, 380–388
Friedman FD (ed) 1988 Gifts of the Nile: Ancient Egyptian faience. London: Thames and Hudson
Hatton G.D., Shortland A.J., Tite M.S. (2008) The production technology of Egyptian blue and
green frits from second millennium BC Egypt and MesopotamiaJournal of Archaeological Science
35 (2008) 1591-1604
Jackson, C. and Nicholson, P. 2010. The provenance of some glass ingots from the Uluburun
shipwreck. Journal of Archaeological Science 37, 295-301.
Kaczmarczyk, A. (1986): The source of cobalt in ancient Egyptian pigments. in ‘‘Proceedings of
the 24th International Archeometry Symposium’’, J.S. Olin & M.J. Blackman, eds., Smithsonian
Institution press, Washington, 369–376.
Kaczmarczyk, A. and Hedges, R.E.M. (1983) Ancient Egyptian Faience– An analytical survey of
Egyptian faience from Predynastic to Roman times. Warminster: Aris and Phillips.
Lilyquist C and Brill R H (1993) Studies in Early Egyptian Glass. New York: The Metropolitan
Museum of Art.
Moorey R. M. S. (1994) Ancient Mesopotamian Materials and Industries Oxford, Clarendon Press
Nicholson, P.T. (1993) Egyptian Glass and Faience. Aylesbury: Shire.
Nicholson, P.T. (2007) Brilliant Things for Akhenaten: the production of glass, vitreous materials
and pottery at Amarna site O45.1. London: E.E.S.
Nicholson, P. & Peltenburg, E., 2000, Egyptian faience. In: P. Nicholson & I. Shaw, Ancient
Egyptian Materials and Technology. Cambridge University Press. Chapter 7: 177-193.
Nicholson PT, Jackson CM and Trott KM (1997) The Ulu Burun glass ingots, cylindrical vessels
ans Egyptian glass. Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 83, 143-153
Pagès-Camagna S. and Colinart S. (2003) The Egyptian green pigment: its manufacturing
process and links to Egyptian blue. Archaeometry 45, 637–658.
Paynter, S and Tite, M S, 2001, The evolution of glazing technologies in the ancient Near East and
Egypt, in The Social Context of Technological Change ed. Shortland, A J, Oxbow Books, Oxford,
239-254.
Peltenburg E (1987) Early faience: recent studies, origins and relationships with glass. In Bimson
M. and Freestone I. C. (eds.) Early Vitreous Materials British Museum: Occasional paper 56, 5-29.
Rehren T 1997 Ramesside glass colouring crucibles. Archaeometry 39/2, 355-368
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Rehren, Th. 2008. A review of factors affecting the composition of early Egyptian glasses and
faience: alkali and alkali earth oxides. Journal of Archaeological Science, doi:
10.1016/j.jas.2007.09.005
Rehren, Th. & Pusch, E. 2005. Late Bronze Age Egyptian glass production at Qantir-Piramesses.
Science 308, 1756-1759.
Rehren, Th. & Pusch, E. (2008): Crushed rock and molten salt? Some aspects of the primary
glass production at Qantir / Pi-Ramesse. In: C. Jackson & E. Wager (eds), Vitreous Materials in
the Late Bronze Age Aegean: A Window to the East Mediterranean World. Oxbow Books, Oxford,
14-33.
Riederer, J., 1997, Egyptian Blue. In: E. FitzHugh, Ed., Artists' Pigments, Vol. 3, 23-45.
Sheridan, J A and Shortland, A (2004) “…beads which have given rise to so much dogmatism,
controversy and rash speculation”: faience in Early Bronze Age Britain and Ireland. In: Scotland in
Ancient Europe. The Neolithic and Early Bronze Age of Scotland in their European Context.
Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, Edinburgh, pp. 263-279. ISBN 0903903318
Shortland A J (2002) The use and origin of antimonate colourants in early Egyptian glass.
Archaeometry 44, 517-530.
Shortland, A. (2012). Lapis Lazuli from the Kiln: Glass and Glassmaking in the Late Bronze Age.
Leuven University Press.
Shortland A.J., Tite M.S., Ewart I. (2006) Ancient Exploitation and Use of Cobalt Alums from the
Western Oases of Egypt, Archaeometry, 48, 153-168.
Shortland A, Rogers N, Eremin K (2007) Trace element discriminants between Egyptian and
Mesopotamian Late Bronze Age glasses Journal of Archaeological Science 34 (2007) 781-789
Smirniou, M. and Rehren, Th. 2011: Direct evidence of primary glass production in Late Bronze
Age Amarna, Egypt. Archaeometry 53, 58–80
Stern, M. & Schlick-Nolte, B., 1994, Early Glass of the Ancient World. Gert Hatje, Stuttgart.
Tite, M.S. (1987) Characterisation of early vitreous materials. Archaeometry 29, 21-34.
Tite, M., Freestone, I. & Bimson, M., 1983, Egyptian faience: an investigation of the method of
production. Archaeometry 25, 17-27
Tite, M S, Shortland, A J and Paynter, S, (2002), The beginnings of vitreous materials in the Near
East and Egypt, Accounts of Chemical Research, 35, 585-593.
Tite M.S. and A.J. Shortland (2008) Production technology of faience and related early vitreous
materials Oxford : School of Archaeology.
Tite, M.S. and Bimson, M. (1989) Glazed steatite: an investigation of the methods of glazing used
in ancient Egypt. World Archaeology 21, 87-100.
Tite, M S, Manti, P and Shortland, A J, (2007) A technological study of ancient faience from Egypt,
Journal of Archaeological Science, 34:1568-1583.
Tite, M.S. and Shortland, A.J. 2008, Production Technology of Faience and Related Early Vitreous
Materials. Oxford, School of Archaeology
Vandiver, P. (1983) Appendix A: The manufacture of faience, In: A. Kaczmarczyk & R.E.M.
Hedges, Ancient Egyptian Faience, A1-A139, plus plates and more appendices.
Vandiver, Pamela B. (1998). A review and proposal of new criteria for production technologies of
Egyptian faience. In: Sylvie Colinart, ed. La couleur dans la peinture et l’émaillage de l’Égypte
ancienne. Bari: Edipuglia, 121-139.
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Weatherhead, F. & Buckley, A., 1989, Artists' pigments from Amarna. In: B. Kemp (ed.), Amarna
Reports V, 202-239.
Wulff, H., Wulff, H. & Koch, L., (1968) Egyptian faience – a possible survival in Iran. Archaeology
21, 98-107.
Session 3: Iron Age to Roman glass: Natron glass
At some point in the late second- early first millennium BC, a major change in flux type occurred
and glass makers began to move from the use of plant ash to natron. In addition, the use of sand
as a source of silica slowly replaced the use of crushed quartz pebbles. These changes permitted
the massive expansion in glass production which occurred in the Hellenistic and Roman periods.
New fabrication techniques, slumping and then blowing were developed allowing a mass
production and a major change in the status of glass vessels. Coloured vessel glass was largely
displaced by limpid or colourless glass by the second century.
Key Background Reading
Shortland A, Schachner L, Freestone I and Tite M (2006) Natron as a flux in the early vitreous
materials industry –sources, beginnings and reasons for decline. Journal of Archaeological
Science 33, 521-530.
Stern E M (1999) Roman glassblowing in a cultural context. American Journal of Archaeology 103,
441-484
Tatton-Brown, V. 1991, Hellenistic and non-blown Roman glass, and The Roman Empire. In: H.
Tait, 5000 Years of Glass, British Museum Press, 47-61 and 62-97.
Bibliography
Foster H. E. & Jackson C. M. (2005) A whiter shade of pale’? Chemical and experimental
investigation of opaque white Roman glass gaming counters Glass Technology 46 327-333
Freestone, I.C. 1990, Laboratory Studies of the Portland Vase, Journal of Glass Studies, 32 103-7.
Grose, D. F. 1986. Innovation and Change in Ancient Technologies: The Anomalous Case of the
Roman Glass Industry. In: W. D. Kingery (ed.), High-Technology Ceramics: Past, Present, and
Future - The Nature of Innovation and Change in Ceramic Technology. Westerville, American
Ceramic Society, 65-79.
Grose, D. F., 1989, Early ancient glass: core-formed, rod-formed, and cast vessels and objects
from the late Bronze Age to the early Roman Empire, 1600 B.C. to A.D. 50, Hudson Hills Press in
association with the Toledo Museum of Art, New York.
Henderson J. 1991 Chemical characterisation of Roman glass vessels, enamels and tesserae. in
P. Vandiver, J. Druzik and G. S. Wheeler (eds.) Materials Issues in Art and Archaeology II
(Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Materials Research Society Symposium Proceedings vol. 185, 1991),
601-608
Israeli, Y., 1991. ‘The invention of blowing’. in: Newby M. and Painter K. (eds.) Roman glass: two
centuries of art and invention. London, The Society of Antiquaries of London, 46-55.
Israeli, Y. and Katsnelson, N., 2006. ‘Refuse of a glass workshop of the second Temple Period
from area J’. in: Avigad, N. Jewish Quarter excavations in the Old City of Jerusalem, 1969-1982,
vol. III: area E and other studies. Jerusalem, Israel Exploration Society, 411-460.
Liardet F (2009) Learning by hand: artefact consistency and craft tradition. Annales 17 Congress
AIHV (2006) 184-188.
12
Jackson, C.M., 2005. Making colourless glass in the Roman period. Archaeometry 47 (4), 763-780
Jackson C M, Hunter J R, Warren S E and Cool H E M (1991) The analysis of blue-green glass
and glassy waste from two Romano-British glass-working sites. Archaeometry '90 (E Pernicka
and G A Wagner, eds) Basel: Birkhauser Verlag, 295-305.
Mass, J. L. R. E. Stone and M. T. Wypyski (1998) The mineralogical and metallurgical origins of
Roman opaque coloured glasses. in P. McCray (ed.) The Prehistory and History of Glassmaking
Technology, Westerville, Ohio, American Ceramic Society Ceramics and Civilization Series, vol
VIII (1998), 121-144.
Price, J. 2005. Glass-working and Glassworkers in Cities and Towns. In Roman Working Lives
and Urban Living. (MacMahon, A. & Price, J. eds) Oxford: Oxbow Books. 167-190..
Price J. and Cottam, S. 1998. Romano-British Glass Vessels: A Handbook. Practical Handbook
in Archaeology 14. York: Council for British Archaeology.
Reade, W., Freestone, I.C. and Simpson, St J., ‘Innovation or continuity? Early first millennium bce
glass in the Near East: the cobalt blue glasses from Assyrian Nimrud’, in Annales du 16e Congres
de l’Association Internationale pour l’Histoire du Verre (2005) 23–27.
Reade W, Freestone I C and Bourke S (2009) Innovation and continuity in Bronze Age and Iron
Age glass from Pella in Jordan, Annales 17th Congress AIHV 47-54
Sayre E V and Smith R W (1961). Compositional categories of ancient glass. Science 133, 18241826
Sayre, E.V. and Smith, R.W. (1967) Some materials of glass manufacturing in antiquity. In M.
Levey (Ed.) Archaeological Chemistry. American Chemical Society 279-311.
Sayre, E. V. 1963. 'The intentional use of antimony and manganese in ancient glasses'. In F. R.
Matson and G. E. Rindone (eds.) Advances in Glass Technology, Part 2 New York: Plenum Press,
263-282.
Schlick-Nolte, B. and Werthmann, R., ‘Glass vessels from the burial of Nesikhons’, Journal of
Glass Studies 45 (2003) 11–34.
Stern, E. M., and Schlick-Nolte, B., 1994, Early glass of the ancient world, 1600 B.C. – A.D. 50:
Ernesto Wolf collection, Gerd Hatje, New York.
Session 4. The natron glass industry: production and composition
Natron-based glass was used West of the Euphrates River to the virtual exclusion of plant-ash
based glass through most of the first millennium AD. For many years we were unable to
determine the origins of this material but from the late 1990s, archaeological discoveries,
advances in chemical analysis, and ethnographic work in India gave rise to a new model, which
emphasises the division of production between a few primary workshops which made the glass,
and a large number of secondary workshops which worked the glass. Most researchers are now
careful to distinguish the terms “glass making” and “glass working”, which refer to distinct types of
activity. As part of our understanding of these developments, we will discuss the use of chemical
analyses to distinguish quite subtle differences between production centres. We will also discuss
the important new developments in isotopic studies which are allowing advances in our
understanding of glass origins and provenance.
Key Background Reading
Degryse P. (2014) Glassmaking in the Roman World. Leuven University Press. Open access
book, available from: http://www.oapen.org/search?identifier=513796
13
Freestone, I., Gorin-Rosen, Y. & Hughes, M., 2000, Primary glass from Israel and the production
of glass in Late Antiquity and the Early Islamic Period. In: M.-D. Nenna (ed), La Route du Verre,
65-83.
Freestone I C, Ponting M and Hughes M J (2002) Origins of Byzantine glass from Maroni Petrera,
Cyprus. Archaeometry 44, 257-272
Bibliography
Baxter, M.J., Cool, H.E.M. and Jackson, C.M. 2005. Further studies in the compositional variability
of colourless Romano-British vessel glass. Archaeometry 47(1), 47-68.
Brems, D., Degryse, P., Hasendoncks, F., Gimeno, D., Silvestri, A., Vassilieva, E., ... & Honings,
J. (2012). Western Mediterranean sand deposits as a raw material for Roman glass production.
Journal of Archaeological Science 39, 2897-2907
Brems, D., Degryse, P., Ganio, M., & Boyen, S. (2012). The production of Roman glass with
western Mediterranean sand raw materials: preliminary results. Glass Technology-European
Journal of Glass Science and Technology Part A, 53(4), 129-138.
Brill, R. H. 1988. Scientific investigations. In Weinberg G D, Excavations at Jalame: Site of a
Glass Factory in Late Roman Palestine University of Missouri, Columbia, pp. 257-294.
Degryse , P. & Schneider , J., 2008. Pliny the Elder and Sr-Nd radiogenic isotopes: provenance
determination of the mineral raw materials for Roman glass production. Journal of Archaeological
Science, 35: 1993-2000.
Degryse P, Schneider J, Lauwers V, Henderson J, Van Daele B, Martens M, Huisman D J, De
Muynck D, Muchez P (2009) Neodymium and strontium isotopes in the provenance determination
of primary natron glass production. In Isotopes in Vitreous Materials, eds P Degryse, J Henderson
and G Hodgson. Leuven University Press
Foster, H. and Jackson, C.M. 2009. The composition of ‘naturally coloured’ late Roman vessel
glass from Britain and the implications for models of glass production and supply. Journal of
Archaeological Science 36, 189–204.
Freestone I C (2005) The Provenance of Ancient Glass through Compositional Analysis. in
Materials Issues in Art and Archaeology VII, edited by Pamela B. Vandiver, Jennifer L. Mass, and
Alison Murray (Mater. Res. Soc. Symp. Proc. 852, Warrendale, PA, 2005), OO8.1
Freestone I C (2006) Glass production in Late Antiquity and the Early Islamic period: a
geochemical perspective. Geomaterials in Cultural Heritage M. Maggetti and B. Messiga (eds)
Geological Society of London Special Publication 257, 201-216.
Freestone I (2008) Pliny on Roman glassmaking. In Martinon-Torres M and Rehren Th (eds)
Archaeology, History and Science: Integrating Approaches to Ancient Materials. University College
London: Institute of Archaeology Publications, Left Coast press, Walnut Creek CA; 77-100.
Freestone I C, Leslie K A, Thirlwall M and Gorin-Rosen Y (2003) Strontium isotopes in the
investigation of early glass production: Byzantine and early Islamic glass from the Near East.
Archaeometry 45, 19-32
Freestone I, Price J and Cartwright C (2009) The batch: its recognition and significance, Annales
17th Congress AIHV 130-135
Freestone I C, Wolf S and Thirlwall M (2005) The production of HIMT glass: Elemental and
Isotopic evidence. Annales du 16e Congres de l’Association Internationale pour l’Histoire du Verre,
153-157.
Freestone I C, Wolf S and Thirlwall M (2009) Isotopic composition of glass from the Levant and
south-eastern Mediterranean Region. In Isotopes in Vitreous Materials, eds P Degryse, J
Henderson and G Hodgson. Leuven University Press, pp. 31-52.
14
Ganio, M., Boyen, S., Brems, D., Scott, R., Foy, D., Latruwe, K. & Degryse, P. (2012). Trade
routes across the Mediterranean: a Sr/Nd isotopic investigation on Roman colourless glass. Glass
Technology-European Journal of Glass Science and Technology Part A, 53(5), 217-224.
Ganio, M., Boyen, S., Fenn, T., Scott, R., Vanhoutte, S., Gimeno, D., & Degryse, P. (2012).
Roman glass across the Empire: an elemental and isotopic characterization. Journal of Analytical
Atomic Spectrometry, 27(5), 743-753.
Gorin-Rosen Y (2000) The ancient glass industry in Israel: summary of finds and new discoveries.
In La Route du Verre: Ateliers primaires et secondaires de verriers du second millinaire av. J.-C.
au Moyen-Age, M.-D. Nenna (ed.), Travaux de la Maison de l'Orient Méditerranéen no. 33, 49-64.
Kock J and Sode T (1994) Glass, Glassbeads and Glassmakers in Northern India Vanlose,
Denmark: THOT Print.
Nenna, M.-D., 2014. Egyptian glass abroad: HIMT glass and its market. In: D. Keller, J. Price and
C. Jackson (eds), Neighbours and successors of Rome – Traditions of glass production and use in
Europe and the Middle East in the later 1st millennium AD. Oxbow Books, 177-193.
Nenna, M-D, M Picon, V Thirion-Merle and M. Vichy 2005. Ateliers primaires du Wadi Natrun:
nouvelles decouvertes, in H Cool (ed.) Annales du 16e Congres de l’Association Internationale
pour l’Histoire du Verre, London 2003, Nottingham: AIHV, 59-63.
Nenna, M-D., Picon M and Vichy M (2000) Ateliers primaire et secondaires en Égypt à l’époque
gréco-romaine. In M.-D. Nenna (ed.) La Route du Verre: Ateliers primaires et secondaires de
verriers du second millénaire av. J.-C. au Moyen-Âge. Lyon: Travaux de la Maison de l'Orient
Méditérranean 33, 97-112
Price, J, Freestone I C and Cartwright C R C (2005) ‘All in a day’s work?’ The colourless cylindrical
glass cups found at Stonea revisited. In N Crummy ed., Image, Craft and the Classical World.
Essays in honour of Donald Bailey and Catherine Johns. Collection ‘Monographies Instrumentum’
no 29. Montagnac, éditions Monique Mergoil, 163-169
Sode, T and J Kock 2001. Traditional raw glass production in northern India: the final stage of an
ancient technology, Journal of Glass Studies 43: 155-69.
Wedepohl K. H. and Baumann A (2000) The use of marine molluskan shells for Roman glass and
local raw glass production in the Eifel area (Western Germany). Naturwissenschaften 87, 129132.
Session 5: Byzantine, Sassanian and Islamic glass
While Roman glass was based upon the use of natron as a flux, east of the Euphrates, in the
regions of the (Persian) Parthian and Sassanian Empires, glass continued to be made from plant
ash, and compositions are not so different from those of the Bronze Age. Following the Arab
expansion in the early seventh century CE, natron use continued but around 850 CE in Egypt, and
at about the same time in the Levant, there was a switch back to plant ash. We will then discuss
some of the compositions and technologies that are particularly associated with later Byzantine
and Islamic glass focusing especially upon opaque glasses, enamelling and gold glass.
Key Background Reading
Freestone, I. & Gorin-Rosen, Y., 1999, The great glass slab at Bet Shearim, Israel: an early
Islamic glassmaking experiment? Journal of Glass Studies 41, 105-116.
Pinder-Wilson, R., 1991, The Islamic Lands and China. In: H. Tait, 5000 Years of Glass, British
Museum Press, 112-143.
15
Shortland, A., Schachner, L., Freestone, I. & Tite, M., 2006. Natron as a flux in the early vitreous
materials industry: sources, beginnings and reasons for decline. Journal Archaeological Science
33, 521-530.
Bibliography
Arletti R., Fiori C, Vandini M (2010) A study of glass tesserae from mosaics in the monasteries of
Daphni and Hosios Loukas (Greece) Archaeometry 52, 796-815
Barber, D.J., and Freestone, I.C. 1990, An investigation of the origin of the colour of the Lycurgus
Cup by analytical transmission electron microscopy, Archaeometry, 32 (1), 33-45.
Barkoudah, Y., & Henderson, J. (2006). Plant ashes from Syria and the manufacture of ancient
glass: ethnographic and scientific aspects. Journal of Glass Studies, 48, 297-321.
Freestone, I.C., Bimson, M., and Buckton, D. 1990, Compositional categories of Byzantine glass
tesserae, in Annales du 11e Congres de l'Association Internationale pour l'Histoire du Verre,
Basle, 29 August - 3 September, 1988, 271-280.
Freestone I, Meeks N, Sax M and Higgit C (2008) The Lycurgus Cup – A Roman nanotechnology.
Gold Bulletin 40, 1-8.
Freestone, I.C., and Stapleton, C.P. 1998, Composition and technology of Islamic enamelled glass
of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, in Gilded and Enamelled Glass from the Middle East,
(ed. Ward, R.), vol. 1, 122-8 + figs, plates, London: BMP.
Gratuze, B., and Barrandon, J.-N., 1990, Islamic glass weights and stamps: analysis using nuclear
techniques, Archaeometry, 32, 155–62.
Greiff S and Schuster J (2008) Technological study of enamelling on Roman glass. Journal of
Cultural Heritage 9, e27-e32.
Gudenrath W (2006) Enameled Glass Vessels, 1425 BCE–1800: The Decorating Process.
Journal of Glass Studies 48, 23-70
Henderson J (1995) Investigations into marvered glass 2. In Islamic Art in the Ashmolean. Oxford
Studies in Islamic Art 10. Oxford. Pp. 31-50.
Henderson J (1995) An investigation of early glass production at Raqqa, Syria. Materials Issues in
Art and Archaeology IV Materials Research Society Symposium Proceedings 352, 433-443.
Henderson J. (1999) Archaeological and scientific evidence for the production of early Islamic
glass in al-Raqqa, Syria. Levant 31, 225-240.
Henderson J. 2002. Tradition and experiment in first millennium AD glass production – the
emergence of early Islamic glass technology in Late Antiquity. Accounts of Chemical Research 35,
594-602.
Mirti, P., Pace, M., Malandrino, M., & Ponzi, M. N. (2009). Sasanian glass from Veh Ardašīr: new
evidences by ICP-MS analysis. Journal of Archaeological Science, 36(4), 1061-1069.
Sayre, E. V. and Smith, R. W. 1974. Analytical studies of ancient Egyptian glass, In, A Bishay
(ed) Recent advances in the Science and Technology of Materials Vol. 3 New York, Plenum
Press, 47-70.
Schibille, N., Marii, F., & Rehren, T. (2008). Characterization and provenance of late antique
window glass from the Petra church in Jordan. Archaeometry, 50(4), 627-642.
Silvestri A, Tonieto S and Molin G (2011) The palaeo-Christian glass mosaic of St. Prosdocimus
(Padova, Italy): archaeometric characterisation of ‘gold’ tesserae Jour Arch Sci 38, 3402-3414
Smith, R.W. (1963) Archaeological evaluation of analyses of ancient glass pp.283-290 in F. R.
Matson and G. E. Rindone (eds.) Advances in Glass Technology, Part 2 New York: Plenum Press,
16
Verità, M., Santopadre, P., 2010. Analysis of Gold-Colored Ruby Glass Tesserae in Roman
Church Mosaics of the Fourth to 12th Centuries. J. Glass Studies, 52, 1-14.
Zorn B and Hilgner A (eds) (2010) Glass Along the Silk Road. Mainz: RGZM. Good collection of
papers, many very pertinent.
Session 6: Ceramic Glazes
A glaze is a coating of glass on a ceramic body. While early glazes are compositionally related to
the glass of contemporary vessels, marked difference develop later. An understanding of glazes
cannot be attained without an understanding of the constraints placed by the firing of the ceramic
body. In this session we will take a chronologically-based survey of ceramic glazes, from the
Bronze Age to the Islamic period. Topics to be covered include alkali glazes, lead glazes and tinglazes.
Key Background Reading
Freestone, I.C & Gaimster, D. (1997) Pottery in the Making, London: British Museum Press and
Washington: Smithsonian Institution. Browse Chapters 10, 16, 17, 18, 28, 30.
Freestone I (2000) The Science of Early British porcelain
http://www.haughton.com/system/files/articles/2010/01/27/92/icf_s_2000_2nd.pdf
Tite, M S, Freestone, I, Mason, R, Molera, J, Vendrell-Saz, M and Wood, N, 1998, Lead glazes in
antiquity - methods of production and reasons for use, Archaeometry, 40, 241-260.
Bibliography
Bernsted, A.M.K. (2003) Early Islamic Pottery: Materials and Techniques, Archetype Publications
Holakooei, P. (2013). A Technological Study of the Elamite Polychrome Glazed Bricks at Susa,
South-Western Iran. Archaeometry 56, 764-783.
Mason, R. B. (2004). Shine like the sun: lustre-painted and associated pottery from the medieval
Middle East. Mazda Pub.
Mason, R B and Tite, M S, 1994, The beginnings of Islamic stonepaste technology, Archaeometry,
36, 77-91.
Mason, R B and Tite, M S, 1997, The beginnings of the tin-opacification of pottery glazes,
Archaeometry, 39, 41-58,
Mason, R B, Tite, M S, Paynter, S and Salter C, 2001, Advances in polychrome ceramics in the
Islamic world of the 12th century AD, Archaeometry, 43, 191-209.
Matson, F. R. (1986). Glazed Brick from Babylon-Historical Setting and Microprobe Analyses. In
Technology and Style (Vol. 2, pp. 133-156). The American Ceramic Society, Inc..
Paynter, S. (2009). Links between glazes and glass in mid-2nd millennium BC Mesopotamia and
Egypt. In Shortland A, Freestone I and Rehren Th (eds) From mine to microscope: advances in
the study of ancient technology, 93-108.
Tite, M S, Freestone, I, Mason, R, Molera, J, Vendrell-Saz, M and Wood, N, 1998, Lead glazes in
antiquity - methods of production and reasons for use, Archaeometry, 40, 241-260.
Walton, M. S., & Tite, M. S. (2010). Production technology of roman lead-glazed pottery and its
continuance into late antiquity. Archaeometry, 52(5), 733-759.
Session 7 Far eastern vitreous materials
17
This session covers some of the remarkable ethnographic evidence from India for early
techniques; the different compositions of Indian glasses; and the very different trajectory of
vitreous materials development in China.
Key Background Reading
Lankton J W and Dussubieux L (2006) Early Glass in Asian Maritime Trade: A Review and an
Interpretation of Compositional Analyses. Jour Glass Studies 48, 121-144
Wood N (2001) The influence of glass technology on Chinese ceramics. International Ceramics
Fair and Seminar. London. Free download from:
http://www.haughton.com/system/files/articles/2010/01/27/86/icf_s_2001_4th.pdf
Vandiver, P.B. (1990) Ancient glazes, Scientific American, 262, 106-113.
Bibliography
An Jiayao (1991) The early glass of China. In Brill and Martin (eds) pp. 1-19.
Braghin C. ed., (2002) Chinese Glass: Archaeological Studies on the Uses and Context of Glass
Artefacts from the Warring States to the Northern Song period. Firenze: Orientalia Venetiana XIV.
Brill R H . and J. H. Martin, eds. (1991) Scientific Research in Early Chinese Glass New York,
Corning Museum of Glass
Brill, R.H., Tong, S. S. C., Dohrenwend, D. (1991) Chemical analyses of some early Chinese
glasses. In Scientific Research in Early Chinese Glass (R H . Brill and J. H. Martin, eds.) New
York, Corning Museum of Glass, 31-58.
Cheng Zhukai and Zhou Changyuan (1991) A glass garment from a Western Han tomb in
Jiangsu province. In Brill and Martin (eds.) pp. 21-26.
Curtis, E. B. (1993). European Contributions to the Chinese Glass of the Early Qing Period.
Journal of Glass Studies, The Coming Museum of Glass, Coming, NY, 35, 97.
Dussubieux, L and B Gratuze 2003. Origine et diffusion du verre dans le monde Indien et en Asie
du sud-est: L’importance du dosage des elements-traces, Revue d’Archeometrie, 27: 67-73.
Dussubieux L, Robertshaw P, Glascock M D (2008) LA-ICP-MS analysis of African glass beads:
Laboratory inter-comparison with an emphasis on the impact of corrosion on data interpretation.
International Journal of Mass Spectrometry International Journal of Mass Spectrometry 284 (2009)
152–161
Dussubieux L, Gratuze B, Blet-Lemarquand M (2010) Mineral soda alumina glass: occurence
and meaning. Journal of Archaeological Science 37, 1646–1655
Dussubieux, L., Kusimba, C. M., Gogte, V., Kusimba, S. B., Gratuze, B., & Oka, R. (2008). The
trading of ancient glass beads: new analytical data from South Asian and East African soda–
alumina glass beads. Archaeometry, 50, 797-821.
Francis, P Jr 2002. Asia’s Maritime Bead Trade 300 BC to the Present, Honolulu: University of
Hawai’i Press.
FitzHugh E.W. and Zycherman L.A. (1983) An early man-made blue pigment from China - barium
copper silicate. Studies in Conservation 28, 15-23.
FitzHugh E.W., and Zycherman, L.A. (1992) A purple barium copper silicate pigment from early
China Studies in Conservation 37, 145-154.
Gill, M. S., & Rehren, T. (2011). Material characterization of ceramic tile mosaic from two
17th‐century islamic monuments in northern India. Archaeometry, 53(1), 22-36.
18
Gill, M. S., Rehren, T., & Freestone, I. (2014). Tradition and indigeneity in Mughal architectural
glazed tiles. Journal of Archaeological Science, 49, 546-555.
Glover I. and Henderson J. (1995) Early glass in South and South East Asia and China. In R. Scott
and J. Guy (eds.) South East Asia and China: Art, Interaction and Commerce London: Percival
David Foundation of Chinese Art, Colloquies on Art and Archaeology in Asia no. 17, 141-169.
Kock, J., & Sode, T. (2002). Medieval glass mirrors in southern Scandinavia and their technique,
as still practiced in India. Journal of Glass Studies, (44), 79-94.
Koezuka T. and Yamasaki K. (2003) Scientific study on the glass beads found in the Yayoi period
of Japan. In Jett P. (ed.) Scientific research in the Field of Asian Art Archetype Publications 183191.
Lee, I.S. (1993) Chemical analyses of some ancient glasses from Korea. Annales du 12e Congres
de l’Association Internationale pour l’Histoire du Verre, 163-175.
Michaelson C. (1999) Han dynasty glass plaques in the British Museum. Trans Oriental Ceram
Soc 63, 45-64.
Nakai, I. and Shindo, Y. 2013. Glass trade between the Middle East and Asia. In: Janssens, K.
(ed) 2013, Modern Methods for Analysing Archaeological and Historical Glass, Wiley and Sons,
445-457.
Pinder-Wilson, R., 1991, The Islamic Lands and China. In: H. Tait, 5000 Years of Glass, British
Museum Press, 112-143.
Wiedemann, H.G., Bayer, G. & Reller, A., (1998), Egyptian blue and Chinese blue. Production
technologies and applications of two historically important blue pigments. In: S. Colinart & M.
Menu (eds.), La Couleur dans la peinture et l'emaillage de l'Egypte Ancienne, 195-203.
Wood, M. 2011. A glass bead sequence for southern Africa from the 8th to the 16th century AD.
Journal of African Archaeology 9 (1), 67–84.
Wood N (1997) New Discoveries in Chinese Ceramics. International Ceramics Fair and Seminar.
London. Free download from:
http://www.haughton.com/system/files/articles/2010/01/27/102/icf_s_1997_4th.pdf
Wood, Nigel (1999). Chinese Glazes. London: Black.
Yin, M., Rehren, T., & Zheng, J. (2011). The earliest high-fired glazed ceramics in China: the
composition of the proto-porcelain from Zhejiang during the Shang and Zhou periods (c. 1700–221
BC). Journal of Archaeological Science, 38(9), 2352-2365.
Session 8: Enamels on Metal, Early Medieval Europe and Recycling
Where was glass obtained when the Romans left northern Europe in the fifth century? To what
extent was a reservoir of old Roman glass recycled, as opposed to the importation of fresh
material? In this session we will look at recycling in some detail. There are interesting examples
from the craft of enamelling, which produced some of the most beautiful objects of the medieval
period.
Key Background Reading
Schibille, N., & Freestone, I. C. (2013). Composition, Production and Procurement of Glass at San
Vincenzo al Volturno: An Early Medieval Monastic Complex in Southern Italy. PloS one, 8(10),
e76479.
Wolf S and Kessler CM, Stern W B, Gerber Y (2005) Early medieval glass from Sion, Sous-leScex (Valais, Switzerland) – Roman glass-making traditions or innovative craftsmanship?
Archaeometry 47, 363-382.
19
Bibliography
Freestone I C and Hughes M J (2006) Origins of the Jarrow glass. Pp. 147-155 in Cramp R
Wearmouth and Jarrow Monastic Sites Vol. 2 English Heritage
Freestone I C, Hughes M J and Stapleton C P (2008) Composition and production of Anglo-Saxon
glass, in V I Evison, Catalogue of Anglo-Saxon glass vessels in the British Museum. London, The
British Museum, 29-46.
Henderson, J., 1993, Aspects of early medieval glass production in Britain, in Annales du 12e
Congrès de l’Association Internationale pour l’Histoire du Verre, 247–59, AIHV, Amsterdam.
Kreuger, I (1990) Glasspiegel im Mittelaeter: Fakten, Funde und Fragen. Bonner Jahrbücher,
190, 233-313.
Kreuger, I (1993) Glass-mirrors in medieval times. Annales du 12e Congrès de l'Association
International pour l'histoire du Verre, 319-332.
Jackson, C. M., 1996, From Roman to early medieval glasses. Many happy returns or a new
birth?, in Annales du 13e Congrès de l’Association Internationale pour l’Histoire du Verre, 289–
301, AIHV, Lochem.
Mirti, P., Lepora, A., and Saguì, L., 2000, Scientific analysis of seventh century glass fragments
from the Crypta Balbi in Rome, Archaeometry, 42, 359–74.
Mirti, P., Davit, P., Gulmini, M., and Saguì, L., 2001, Glass fragments from the Crypta Balbi in
Rome: the composition of eighth century fragments, Archaeometry, 43, 491–502.
Röhrs, S., Biron, I., Stege, H., 2009. About Limoges painted enamels – chronological evolution of
the glass chemical composition. Annales du 17e congrès de l’AIHV, Anvers, 500-509.
Verità, M., Santopadre, P., 2010. Analysis of Gold-Colored Ruby Glass Tesserae in Roman
Church Mosaics of the Fourth to 12th Centuries. J. Glass Studies, 52, 1-14.
Verità, M., Zecchin, S., 2009. Thousand years of Venetian glass: the evolution of chemical
composition from the origins to the 18th century, Annales of the 17th AIHV Congress, 2006,
Antwerp, ed. By K. Janssens, P. Degryse, P. Cosyns, J. Caen, L. Van’t dack, University press
Antwerp, 602-613.
Wolf S and Kessler C (2010) Early medieval window glass from Switzerland and a brief history of
glass production in Europe in the first millennium AD. Pp 29-37 in Zorn B and Hilgner A (eds)
Glass Along the Silk Road. Mainz: RGZM
Glass on metal
Bimson, M. and Freestone, I.C. 1985, 'Rouge Clair' and other late 14th Century Enamels on the
Royal Gold Cup of the Kings of France and England, in Annales du 9e Congres de l'Association
Internationale pour l'histoire du Verre, Nancy 1983, 209-222.
Biron I and Beauchoux S (2003) Ion beam analysis of Mosan enamels. Meas. Sci. Technol. 14
(2003) 1564–1578
Biron I, Dandridge P and Wypyski M T (1996) Techniques and materials in Limoges enamels. In
Tauburet-Delahaye E and Drake-Boehm B. Enamels of Limoges 1100-1350. Metropolitan
Museum of Art 48-62.
Brun N. and Pernot M. (1992) The opaque red glass of Celtic enamels from continental Europe.
Archaeometry 34, 235-252
Craddock P (2009) The Scientific Investigation of Copies, Fakes and Forgeries. London:
Butterworth-Heinemann.
20
Dandridge (P.), Wypuski (M.T.), “Preliminary Technical Study on Medieval Limoges Enamels” in
Materials Issues in Art and Archaeology III, vol. 267, 1992, p. 817-826.
Freestone, I.C. 1993, Compositions and origins of glasses from Romanesque champleve
enamels, in Catalogue of Medieval Enamels in the British Museum. Volume II Northern
Romanesque Enamel, (ed. Stratford, N.), 37-45, London: British Museum Press
Freestone I.C., (1992) Theophilus and the Composition of Medieval Glass, in Materials Issues in
Art and Archaeology III, vol. 267, 1992, p. 739-745.
Henderson (J.), “Technological Characteristics of Roman Enamels” in Jewellery Studies, vol. 5,
1991, p. 65-76.
Hughes M. J. (1972) A technical study of opaque red glass of the Iron Age in Britain. Proceedings
Prehistoric Society, 38, 98-107
Joyner L, Freestone I and Robinson J (2006) Crowning glory: the identification of gems on the
head reliquary of St Eustace from the Basle Cathedral Treasury. J Gemmology 30, 169-182.
Musch I and Stege H (2004) New research on painted Limoges enamels. Braunschwig.
Perez y Jorba (M.), Rommeluere (M.), Bahezre (C.), “Etude de la détérioration d’un plaque d’émail
peint de Limoges” in Studies in Conservation, vol. 38, n° 3, 1993, p. 206-212.
Schwahn, B. (2014). Enamel insert restorations on Limoges painted enamels: A study on a
remarkable nineteenth-century restoration technique with particular attention to the original paillon
designs. Studies in Conservation, 59(3), 161-179.
Smith (R.), Carlson (J.H.), Newman (R.M.), “An Investigation Into the Deterioration of Painted
Limoges Enamel Plaques c. 1470-1530” in Studies in Conservation, vol. 32, n° 3, 1987, p. 102113.
Stapleton C P, Freestone I C, and Bowman S G E 1999, Composition and origin of early medieval
opaque red enamel from Britain and Ireland. Journal of Archaeological Science 26, 913-921.
Tait H and Freestone I (2004) Painted enamel ‘patches’: a nineteenth century virtuoso restorer’s
technique. In I Müsch und H Stege (eds.) New Research on Limoges Enamels. Braunschweig:
Herzog Anton Ulrich-Museum, pp. 117-122.
VeritÀ, M., Cagnini, A., Galeotti, M., Cavalca, N., & Porcinai, S. (2012). Compositional Analysis of
14th–15th Century Enamels from the Altar of San Giovanni in Florence: an Integrated Study by
Portable X-Ray Fluorescence and Electron Probe Microanalysis. Archaeometry. Article first
published online: 13 DEC 2012 DOI: 10.1111/arcm.12001
Wypyski, M. T. (2002, January). Renaissance enameled jewelry and 19th century Renaissance
revival: characterization of enamel compositions. In Materials Research Society Symposium
Proceedings (Vol. 712, pp. 223-234). Warrendale, Pa.; Materials Research Society; 1999.
Session 9 Medieval Europe: Potash-lime glass and stained glass windows
New coloured and opaque glasses were introduced to northern Europe as the reservoir of old
Roman glass declined and demand increased. Plant ash glass from the Mediterranean appears in
the form of high quality vessels. Coloured window glass represents the major output of medieval
glasshouses in northern Europe and was an important material in medieval buildings. How was it
made and how did it develop? To what extent was it a “new” technology and to what extent
derived from earlier practices? Archaeological approaches can tell us a good deal about this
technology, which has been traditionally the domain of art historians.
21
Bibliography
Barrera, J., Velde, B., 1989. A study of French medieval glass composition. Archéologie
Médiévale, XIX, 81-127.
Cable, M., 1998, The operation of wood-fired glass-melting furnaces. In: P. McCray & D. Kingery
(eds.), The Prehistory and History of Glassmaking Technology, 315-330.
Cox, G. A., Gillies, K. J. S., 1986. The X-Ray Fluorescence Analysis of Medieval Durable Blue
Soda Glass from York Minster. Archaeometry, 28/1, 57-68
Cox, G. A., Heavens, O. S., Newton, R. G., & Pollard, A. M. (1979). A study of the weathering
behavior of medieval glass from York Minster. Journal of glass studies, 21, 54-75.
Freestone, I.C., Bimson, M., 1995. Early Venetian enamelling on glass: technology and origins. in
Vandiver P.B., Druzik J.R., Madrid J.L.G., Freestone I.C., Wheeler G.S. (Eds.), Material issues in
art and archaeology IV. Mater.Res. Soc. Symp. Proc. 352, 415-431.
Freestone, I., Kunicki-Goldfinger, J., Gilderdale-Scott, H., & Ayers, T. (2010). Multi-disciplinary
investigation of the windows of John Thornton, focusing on the Great East Window of York
Minster. The Art of Collaboration: Stained-Glass Conservation in the Twenty-First Century, 151-58.
Jackson, C.M. and Smedley, J.W. 2008. Medieval and post-medieval glass technology: the
chemical composition of bracken from different habitats through a growing season. Glass
Technology: European Journal of Glass Science and Technology Part A., 49(5), 240–245.
Jackson, C.M. and Smedley, J.W. (2008) Theophilus and the use of beech ash as a glassmaking
alkali. in M. Martinón-Torres and Th. Rehren (eds). Archaeology, History and Science. Integrating
approaches to ancient materials. 117-130. California: Left Coast Press
Jacoby D. (1993) Raw Materials for the Glass Industries of Venice and the Terraferma, About
1370 About 1460, J. Glass Studies, 1993, 35, 65-90
Marks, R. (1993). Stained glass in England during the Middle Ages. Routledge.
Mecking, O. (2013). Medieval lead glass in central Europe. Archaeometry, 55(4), 640-662.
Stern WB and Gerber Y.,‘Potassium–calcium glass: new data and experiments’, Archaeometry, 46
(1)(2004), 137–56* Read only with comment by *Verita M (2005) Comments on WB Stern and
Y. Gerber,‘potassium–calcium glass: new data and experiments’ Archaeometry 47, 667-669
Smedley, J. W. & Jackson, C.M. 2002. Medieval and post medieval glass technology: A review of
the use of bracken in glassmaking. Glass Technology 43(6), 221–224.
Smedley, J.W. and Jackson, C.M. 2002. Medieval and post-medieval glass technology: Batch
measuring practices. Glass Technology 43(1), 22-27.
Verità, M., 1995. Analytical investigation of European enamelled beakers of the 13th and 14th
centuries. J. Glass Studies, 37, 83-98.
Verità, M., 1998. Analyses of early enamelled Venetian glass: a comparison with Islamic glass. in
R. Ward editor., Gilded and enamelled glass from Middle East, British Museum Press, London, 29134; 212.
Wedepohl, K. H. (1997). Chemical composition of medieval glass from excavations in West
Germany. Glass science and technology, 70(8), 246-255.
Wedepohl, K. H., & Baumann, A. (1997). Isotope composition of Medieval lead glasses reflecting
early silver production in Central Europe. Mineralium Deposita, 32(3), 292-295.
Wedepohl, K. H., Krueger, I., & Hartmann, G. (1995). Medieval lead glass from northwestern
Europe. Journal of Glass Studies, 37, 65-82.
22
Wedepohl K H and Simon K (2010) The chemical composition of medieval wood ash glass from
Central Europe Chemie der Erde 70, 89-97
Wedepohl, K. H., Simon, K., & Kronz, A. (2011). Data on 61 chemical elements for the
characterization of three major glass compositions in Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages.
Archaeometry, 53(1), 81-102.
Session 10 Renaissance and later glass
From the Renaissance, the glass industries undergo more rapid change. The search for clear,
colourless “crystal” leads to the development of several diverse formulations and close attention to
the purity of raw materials. Eventually, industrially produced chemicals and new colourants such
as chromium and uranium lead to glass which is broadly similar to earlier materials but very
different in detail. This is fortunate, as it allows us to separate the many nineteenth century copies
(so-called “fakes”) from genuinely ancient items. Fakes and Forgeries and their detection by
chemical techniques provide a good overview of aspects of the course.
Biron, I., & Verità, M. (2012). Analytical investigation on Renaissance Venetian enamelled glasses
from the Louvre collections. Journal of Archaeological Science 39, 2706 – 2713.
Cable M and Smedley I W (1987) "Liquidus temperatures and melting characteristics of some
early container glasses." Glass Technology 28, 94-98.
Craddock, P. (Ed.). (2012). Scientific investigation of copies, fakes and forgeries. Routledge.
Crossley, D 1972 ‘The performance of the glass industry in sixteenth-century England’. The
Economic History Review, 25 (1972), pp. 421–433
Crossley, D., 1998, The English glassmaker and his search for raw materials in the 16th and 17th
centuries. In: P. McCray & D. Kingery (eds.), The Prehistory and History of Glassmaking
Technology, 167-179
De Raedt, I., Janssens, K., and Veeckman, J., 1999. Compositional distinctions between 16th
century façon de Venise and Venetian glass vessels excavated in Antwerp, Belgium. J. An. Atom.
Spectr. 14, 493-498.
De Raedt, I., Janssens, K., and Veeckman, J., 2002. On the distinction between 16th and 17th
century Venetian and façon de Venise glass, in Veeckman, J. (Ed.), Proceedings of Majolica and
Glass - from Italy to Antwerp and beyond. The transfer of technology in the 16th-early 17th
century, Antwerp, 95-121.
Dungworth D (2011) The value of historic window glass. Historic Environment 2, 21-48
Dungworth, D. (2012). Historic Window Glass-The Use of Chemical Analysis to Date Manufacture.
Journal of Architectural Conservation, 18(1), 7.
Dungworth, D. (2012). Historic windows: investigation of composition groups with nondestructive
pXRF. Glass Technology-European Journal of Glass Science and Technology Part A, 53(5), 192197.
Eramo, G., 2006, The glass-melting crucibles of Derriere Sairoche (1699-1714 AD, Ct. Bern,
Switzerland): a petrological approach. Journal Archaeological Science 33, 440-452.
Freestone, I. C., Gudenrath, W., & Cartwright, C. (2008). The Hope Goblet Reconsidered. I.
Technological Considerations. J Glass Studies, 50, 159.
Freestone I. C. 2000 The Science of Early British Porcelain. International Ceramics Fair and
Seminar. London, 19-27.
Freestone I C and Tatton-Brown V (2005) The Bonus eventus plaque – changing materials,
changing perceptions. Annales du 16e Congres de l’Association Internationale pour l’Histoire du
Verre 391-395.
23
Gratuze B and Janssens K (2004) Provenance analysis of glass artefacts. Pp. 663-712 In
Janssens K., R. Van Grieken (2004) Non-destructive microanalysis of cultural heritage materials.
Janssens, K., Cagno, S., De Raedt, I., & Degryse, P. (2013). Transfer of Glass Manufacturing
Technology in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries from Southern to Northern Europe: Using
Trace Element Patterns to Reveal the Spread from Venice via Antwerp to London. Modern
Methods for Analysing Archaeological and Historical Glass, Volume I, 537-562.
Kingery, W.P. and Vandiver, P.B. (1985). The 18th century change in technology and style from
the Famille-Verte to the Famille-Rose palette. In Kingery W.D. (ed) Ceramics and Civilisation
Vol.2: Technology and Style. Columbus, Ohio: American Ceramic Society, pp. 363-381
MacLeod, C., 1987, Accident or Design? George Ravenscroft’s patent and the invention of leadcrystal glass. Technology and Culture 28, 776-803.
Verità, M., 1985. L’invenzione del cristallo muranese: una verifica analitica delle fonti storiche.
Rivista Stazione Sperimentale del Vetro, 15, 17-29.
Wypyski, M.T., 2002. Renaissance enameled jewelry and 19th century Renaissance revival:
characterization of enamel compositions. Mat. Res. Soc. Symp. Proc., vol. 712, Materials research
Society, II6.6.1-II6.6.11.
Wypyski, M.T., 2009. Technical study of Renaissance Venetian enamelled glass, in: K. Janssens,
P. Degryse, P. Cosyns, J. Caen, L. Van’t Dack (Eds.), Annales of the 17th Congress of the AIHV,
Antwerp 2006, University Press, Antwerp, 529-535.
4 ONLINE RESOURCES
An online reading list is available for this course. Please note that according to the digital licence,
these readings are only available to our own students and staff. Intercollegiate students taking the
course should contact Judy Medrington to be registered for a college IS username and password.
This should be done when students register for the course.
Useful websites include:
www.romanglassmakers.co.uk. Masses of material about glassworking techniques and furnaces
www.cmog.org Corning Museum of Glass. Search the collection on-line; on-line glass dictionary;
“underwater archaeology” video on the Ulu Burun wreck; Timeline of glass; Catalogue of the
Rakow Research Library. See some of the helpful information and videos in the “Research”
section of the site.
http://www.afaverre.fr/acteurs_bibliographie.php French Association for the Archaeology of Glass
has lists of publications of many of those active in the field. On-line copies of Bulletin which has
some very useful short articles.
http://www.aihv.org/en/aihv_publications.html l’Association Internationale pour l’Histoire du Verre
has downloadable copies of its 15th (2001, pub 2003) and 16th (2003, pub 2006) congresses
available here.
https://www.google.com/culturalinstitute/collection/the-british-museum?f.text=glass&v.view=grid
This fine collection of British Museum objects may be seen on the website of the Google Cultural
Institute. It used to be available on the BM website, prompting us to speculate on the nature of
cultural imperialism in a globalised market economy.
http://www.historyofglass.org.uk/index.html. The British Association for the History of Glass
(AHG). Produces a Newsletter and holds one or two meetings per annum. Also provides grants
for glass researchers (including students) to attend conferences and complete projects.
www.academia.edu Many researchers (e.g. Julian Henderson, Caroline Jackson, Thilo Rehren)
have their own pages and upload their research papers to this site which are freely downloadable.
24
Search on their names. (NB. You may have to register to access the site, do so as a “graduate
student” and put your course or module coordinator down as supervisor).
Google Scholar. Use of the appropriate keywords and author names will produce a far more
focussed result than a normal Google web search.
Google images. For pictures of glass vessels.
5 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Information for intercollegiate and interdepartmental students
Students enrolled in Departments outside the Institute should obtain the Institute’s coursework
guidelines from Judy Medrington (email j.medrington@ucl.ac.uk), which will also be available on
the IoA website.
Important Collections of Glass in London:
The British Museum – has the best collection of ancient glass in the world, spread through its
galleries, as well as arguably the best ceramics collection.
The Victoria and Albert Museum – has an excellent gallery devoted to glass, including pull out
display cases allowing the reserve collection to be viewed. Also excellent ceramic galleries
The Museum of London – Excavated material from London’s Roman glass workshops and a good
range of glass and ceramic artefacts through the galleries
The Petrie Museum - Material from excavations in Egypt, in archaeological context
25
SUPPORTING MATERIAL
Main Compositional Types of Archaeological Glass (Mediterranean, West Asia and Europe)
Depend upon the flux used to lower the melting temperature of the silica:
(1) Natron from Egypt (soda-rich)
(2) Plant ash from hot countries (soda-rich)
(3) Wood ash from temperate Europe (potash rich)
Chronological ranges of main glass types:
BC
1500
1000
Plant ash
AD
500
0
500
1000
1500
Iraq and East
Natron
?
Potash
Glasses made from soda-rich plant ash and natron can be distinguished by their contents of
potash and magnesia, which are higher in plant ash glass (plant ash has more impurities).
Natron
Plant ash
Wood ash
Na2O
CaO
SiO2
17
8
70
16
6
66
2
15
55
soda
lime
silica
K2O
MgO
0.5
0.5
3.5
5.0
17
6
potash
magnesia
26
The use of opacifiers in glass through the ages
Taken from Rooksby H P (1962) Opacifiers in opal glasses through the ages. GEC Journal 29,
20-26
Old now, but still more-or-less true.
27
Some Glaze Compositions
1
2
3
4
5
Alkali
Glaze
Lead
Glaze
Lead
Glaze
Feldspathic
Glaze
Salt
Glaze
soda
Na2O
14
0.5
1
0.5
11
potash
K2O
4
0.5
5
5
2
lime
CaO
6
0.5
1
15
2
lead
PbO
0
60
30
0
0
silica
SiO2
70
30
56
64
65
2
5
3
15
20
alumina Al2O3
1. Typical of pre-Roman Near Eastern pottery, Egyptian faience, and some later Islamic-period
wares. Made by applying glass frit to the surface or in the case of some faience, by
efflorescence. Low maturing range, around 900-1000oC. Corrodes easily, depending on
lime content (sometimes lower, esp in faience). Not a good fit to body, often crazed.
2. Typical of medieval wares in Britain and Europe. Forms as a reaction between galena (PbS),
or lead oxide, and clay, while the pot is fired. Matures around 800-900oC. Alumina content is
derived from the body. Often slightly corroded.
3. Typical of post-medieval wares, this is from 18th C English porcelain. Note lower lead
content, matures around 1000-1100oC. The glaze is applied as a frit to the surface of the
ware.
4. Typical of hard paste porcelains and stonewares, this is from Chinese celadon. The high
alumina is derived from the use of clay in the glaze mixture. This means that the glaze has a
high maturing temperature 1200-1350oC. It also makes the glaze very resistant to corrosion.
5. Salt glazes are formed by a reaction between alkali vapour and clay body. They are
essentially clay plus soda and are fired at around 1150-1250oC. High alumina means very
resistant to corrosion, so although they are very thin, they often come out of the ground
looking good.
28
Compositions of some enamels
Celtic opaque red enamel
SiO2
silicon dioxide
Iron Age/
Romano-British
41
Early
Medieval
17
CaO
calcium oxide
3.9
0.7
Na2O
sodium oxide
10.6
0.8
PbO
lead oxide
32
53
CuO
copper oxide
6.4
16.8
Al2O3
aluminium oxide
1.8
2.3
FeO
iron oxide
0.6
0.6
MgO
magnesium oxide
0.6
0.4
K2O
potassium oxide
0.5
0.6
SnO2
Sb2O3
tin oxide
antimony oxide
0.4
1.1
6.4
<0.7
Comment – these are high lead glasses and easy to melt. The Iron Age glass was probably
made by adding lead and copper oxide to a pre-existing soda-lime-silica glass base; the early
medieval is a simpler copper-lead-silica composition. Both are opaque red due to the presence of
dendritic crystals of cuprite, care is required to maintain the glass in a reduced state while heating.
Mosan enamel (Romanesque, 12th century, made in the Liège region)
Green
Turquoise
Mosan
Roman
enamel
mosaic
16.6
18.1
Na2O
Mosan
enamel
16.4
Roman
mosaic
17.4
MgO
0.5
0.7
0.6
0.6
Al2O3
2.2
2.0
2.0
2.0
SiO2
63.6
65.6
65.7
66.2
K2O
0.5
0.7
0.6
0.6
CaO
5.5
6.2
5.3
6.0
FeO
0.6
0.7
0.5
0.5
MnO
0.4
0.4
0.3
0.4
CuO
2.9
1.5
2.3
2.0
PbO
4.8
2.8
2.4
1.2
Sb2O3
1.0
0.6
1.5
1.5
Comment - These are soda-lime-silica glasses, made opaque by fine particles of lead antimonate
(green) and calcium antimonate (turquoise). The medieval enamels are very similar in
composition to analyses of Roman mosaics and it is generally accepted that the twelfth century
author Theophilus was correct when he described the removal of glass tesserae from Roman wall
mosaics to make enamels and coloured window glass. These compositions are stable in the
museum environment, although, like many glasses, they will corrode in the soil.
29
Methods of Analysis
The Scanning Electron Microscope - How it works…
1. The image
Scanning electron microscope – the column
Filament
TV image - shades
of grey
electrons
Lens
Scanning coils
Lens
Electron detector
Vacuum
pump
specimen
The SEM consists of a column which is kept under vacuum. Electrons are generated from a
filament at the top of the column and pass down it due to a potential difference of thousands of
volts.
The electrons are focused on the object by “lenses” which are magnets.
Scanning coils move the electron beam backwards and forwards across the sample (just like the
cathode ray tube in an old TV or computer screen).
When the electrons hit the surface of the object, more electrons are knocked out of the surface
(“secondary electrons”). These are registered by the secondary electron detector, which
interfaces with an amplifier to give a TV image of the sample.
Advantages over a light microscope:
Very high magnifications – can easily see features less than one thousandth of a millimetre.
Hills and valleys in focus at the same time
Very sharp images
Features rich in heavy elements (metals such as copper, lead and iron) appear brighter than those
rich in light elements – reveals the microstructure of alloys, ceramics etc.
30
2. Chemical analysis
Primary Beam
X-ray
detector
Secondary
Electron Detector
X-rays
In addition to secondary electrons, X-rays are given off from the sample. These depend on the
chemical elements present. The energies of the X-rays correspond to different elements and the
amounts of the X-rays give the amounts of the elements.
So it is possible to get a chemical analysis of a single spot, or of an area being scanned.
Energy dispersive analysis in the SEM (SEM-EDXA) allows us to:
 Analyse a small area of an artefact – e.g. a coating on metal or a glaze on pottery or a
mineral inclusion
 Analyse a very small sample – e.g. a tiny fragment of glass or a shaving of metal
Its main limitation is that it can only detect the major and some minor elements – those present at
levels above about 0.1%. It can’t analyse trace elements.
Other limitations include the need for a flat sample for a good analysis; the need to coat the
sample with a conductive material such as carbon
31
Other methods of analysis you will encounter in the Literature
Electron Microprobe (EPMA) – sophisticated type of SEM which uses wavelength rather than
energy dispersive analysis (WDS vs EDS). Advantageous as it gives good analysis of minor
elements, especially antimony and tin which can be problematic with SEM-EDS. These methods
require solid samples of only a few millimetres diameter
Inductively-Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) A good method for the analysis of
trace elements. Usually coupled with EPMA for the major elements. Needs a sample to be
dissolved in acid. However, laser ablation ICP-MS (LA-ICP-MS) is increasingly used, which
requires removal of a minute sample (less than 1 mm across). It works by ablating the surface of
the sample with a laser and sucking the ablated material up into the spectrometer. The technique
can be used “non-destructively” for small artefacts such as beads, which will fit into the sample
chamber.
Hand held or portable X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (pXRF or hhXRF). “Non-destructive”
method which gives unreliable numbers in many cases because of the need for a flat sample and
surface corrosion and dirt and because of limitations of the manufacturer’s correction
programmes. Exceptions to this generalization are the work of the group under Prof Nakai from
Japan where the results get pretty close to those of EPMA and David Dungworth’s work on postmedieval window glass where the windows are flat (naturally) and pretty well cleaned so there is
not a surface layer of dirt and corrosion..
X-ray diffraction (XRD) This tells you the crystals (opacifiers) present in the glass, but glass itself
is non-crystalline so it does not give the composition of the glass.
Raman Spectrometry. Capabilities a bit like XRD, in that it gives the opacifiers present. Used in
such a way, it can be a useful non-destructive method for glass. However, it does not give a
chemical composition and is only occasionally used in glass studies
Isotope Analysis. Usually carried out using Thermal Ionisation Mass Spectrometry (TIMS) or a
special form of ICP-MS called Multi-Collector ICPMS. These are highly expensive instruments and
specialized techniques and access to specialist laboratories is needed to use them. Isotopic
studies are very useful in the characterization and provenance of certain glass types.
32
Elements in Glass and Glazes
Major and minor elements
Element
Symbol
Si
Al
Fe
Mn
Mg
Ca
Na
K
P
Pb
Sb
Sn
Cu
Name
Oxide
Silicon
Aluminium
Iron
Manganese
Magnesium
Calcium
Sodium
Potassium
Phosphorus
Lead
Antimony
Tin
Copper
SiO2
Al2O3
FeO/Fe2O3
MnO
MgO
CaO
Na2O
K2O
P2O5
PbO
Sb2O5
SnO2
Cu2O/CuO
Informal
oxide name
Silica
Alumina
Magnesia
Lime
Soda
Potash
Phosphate
Typically added as
Sand
Sand
Sand (colourant)
Colourant/decolourant
Sand/flux
Sand/flux
Flux
Flux
Flux (plant ash)
Flux/colourant
Opacifier/colourant
Opacifier
Colourant
Major element analyses are usually given as weight percent oxide, e.g. 71.3% SiO2
Some Trace Elements of interest
B
Co
Ni
Cr
Ti
Ag
As
Au
Zr
Rb
Sr
Ba
La
Ce
Nd
U
Th
Boron
Cobalt
Nickel
Chromium
Titanium
Silver
Arsenic
Gold
Zirconium
Rubidium
Strontium
Barium
Lanthanum
Cerium
Neodymium
Uranium
Thorium
Trace element analyses are usually reported as parts per million, e.g. 33 ppm La
100% = 1, 000, 000 ppm
10% = 100, 000 ppm
1% = 10, 000 ppm
0.1% = 1, 000 ppm
0.01%= 100 ppm
33
IMPORTANT: INSTITUTE OF ARCHAELOGY COURSEWORK
PROCEDURES
General policies and procedures concerning courses and coursework, including submission procedures,
assessment criteria, and general resources, are available in your Degree Handbook and on the following
website: http://wiki.ucl.ac.uk/display/archadmin. It is essential that you read and comply with these. Note that
some of the policies and procedures will be different depending on your status (e.g. undergraduate,
postgraduate taught, affiliate, graduate diploma, intercollegiate, interdepartmental). If in doubt, please consult
your course co-ordinator.
GRANTING OF EXTENSIONS: .
New UCL-wide regulations with regard to the granting of extensions for coursework have been introduced
with effect from the 2015-16 session. Full details are available here http://www.ucl.ac.uk/srs/academicmanual/c4/extenuating-circumstances/
Note that Course Coordinators are no longer permitted to grant extensions. All requests for extensions must
be submitted on a new UCL form, together with supporting documentation, via Judy Medrington’s office
and will then be referred on for consideration. Please be aware that the grounds that are now acceptable are
limited. Those with long-term difficulties should contact UCL Student Disability Services to make special
arrangements.
G111 Course Schedule (Term 2, 2015-16, Mondays 09.00-11.00)
Week
Title
1. 11 January
Nature and Properties of Glass
2. 18 January
Late Bronze Age vitreous materials
3. 25 January
Pre- and early Roman glass – trade and technological change
4. 1 February
The mature natron glass industry: production and composition
5. 8 February
Byzantine, Sassanian and Islamic glass
Reading week
15-19 February
6. 22 February
Ceramic Glazes
7. 29 February
Far eastern glass, glazes and vitreous pigments
8. 7 March
Early medieval (post-Roman) glass, glass enamels on metalwork.
9. 14 March
Medieval Europe
10. 21 March
Renaissance and later glass; fakes and forgeries
Assessment deadlines:
Assessment 1 (data) due 26 February
Assessment 2 (essay) due 29 April
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