ANALYTICAL AND TECHNOLOGICAL STUDY OF ROMAN, BYZANTINE AND EARLY ISLAMIC (UMAYYAD) GLASSES FROM AL-FUDEIN ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE, JORDAN
Keywords:
Roman glass, Byzantine glass, Umayyad glass, Jordan, Production technology, Natron, Plant ash, Levantine type I.Abstract
The study investigates the chemical composition and production technology of a set of thirty-nine glass samples from the archaeological site of Al-Fudein, northeast Jordan. The samples cover a long span of time dating back to the Roman, Byzantine and Early Islamic (Umayyad) periods. The X-Ray Fluorescence chemi- cal analyses revealed that the samples are soda-lime-silica natron based glasses. The majority of the samples are most probably of the Levantine type I glass, where the silica might come from the Syrian-Palestinian coast. Manganese and copper are the probable generators of the distinguished purple and turquoise colors. The high content of magnesia and potash of 4 Roman and 1 Umayyad samples might indicate the continuity of using plant ash fluxes in certain production centers during the Roman-Umayyad periods or pointing at a possible limited (but not documented before) inter-regional trade of Sasanian glass during the Roman peri- od.
