Excavations at the Roman villa of Noheda (Spain) revealed the remains of an exceptionally elaborate fourth-century floor mosaic that contains a surprisingly large number of glass tesserae, representing a broad spectrum of colors. This paper presents the results of the chemical (LA-ICP-MS) and microstructural analyses (SEM-EDS, XRPD) of 420 glass tesserae from these mosaics. The high number of data allowed us to establish the compositional variability and to elucidate questions of supply in relation to a large-scale artistic campaign. The tesserae from Noheda were almost exclusively made from recycled mixed Roman Mn and Sb base glass, thus demonstrating that recycling of Roman base glasses was common practice in the fourth century, occurring on a near industrial scale. It also suggests that the workshops specializing in the production of mosaic tesserae might have been in the western Mediterranean. A limited number of coloring and opacifying additives (Mn, Co, Cu, Sb, Pb) were identified, which resulted in a wide range of hues. These were differentially associated with various trace elements, which implies the use of different raw materials. A sub-set of red, green, and orange tesserae reflect distinct base glass characteristics as well as coloring technologies that point to an Egyptian provenance.
Calcium antimonate (in the hexagonal or cubic form) dispersed in the glass matrix is an artificially synthesized phase commonly documented as opacifier for white glasses during the Roman period. Glasses of this type occasionally contain variable amounts of lead oxide. There is no consensus about the origin and role of the lead component in white glasses, whether it was functional to modify the workability of the glass and/or to help the precipitation of the particles, or whether it was an unintentional pollutant introduced with the raw materials. A group of lead and lead-free white mosaic tesserae from the fourth-century CE villa of Noheda in Spain were analyzed by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and high temperature X-ray diffraction (HTXRD) to evaluate the impact of variable amounts of lead oxide in the precipitation of calcium antimonate on the viscosity of the glass. The analyzed glasses show thermal events that have been related to the composition of the glass via multicomponent linear regression model. CaSb2O6 and Ca2Sb2O7 formed in the glass during the cooling phase and the glass was not reheated. Lead oxide influences the thermal behavior of the glass, lowering the onset temperatures of all the events, implying a more cost-effective production process. We propose that lead was added intentionally or that lead-bearing raw materials were selected specifically by the ancient glass artisans.
En este trabajo se presentan los primeros resultados obtenidos a partir del estudio polínico realizado en los estratos de la villa romana de Noheda (Cuenca). La arqueopalinología permite analizar la reconstrucción y evolución del paisaje vegetal en el yacimiento y recomponer las bases económicas del complejo rural en cada una de las distintas fases de ocupación, así como tras su abandono. La presente aportación viene a contribuir al conocimiento de la dinámica vegetal y antrópica en un área, en interior de la Península Ibérica y en unas cronologías en las que resultan escasos los estudios de paleoambientales.
ResumenEste artículo ofrece un estudio detallado del casco hallado en la Tumba 3 de la necrópolis ibérica de 'Los Canónigos' (Arcas del Villar, Cuenca), y del resto del ajuar de la sepultura. Se trata del único ejemplar casi completo de casco de una variante hispana del tipo calcídico o italo-calcídico, descubierto con un contexto arqueológico preciso. Se propone su denominación como hispano-calcídico, y una horquilla máxima para este ejemplar de entre la segunda mitad del s. IV y principios del s. II a.C., y una más probable de los comienzos del s. III a.C., y en todo caso antes de la presencia romana en la Península Ibérica y antes de la penetración militar de los Barca a fines del s. III a.C. con lo que ello significa en tanto que implica un conocimiento previo de los prototipos greco-itálicos muy anterior a esos momentos.Palabras clave: Cultura Ibérica. Necrópolis. Casco italo-calcídico. Casco hispano-calcídico SummaryThis paper presents a detailed study of the helmet found in Burial 3 in the Iberian Iron Age cemetery at 'Los Canónigos', (Arcas del Villar, Cuenca, Spain), and also of the other grave goods found with it in the burial. It is the only almost complete example of a helmet of a peculiarly Spanish variant of the Chalcidian or Italo-Chalcidian type found in a precise archaeological context. We propose its definition as a Spanish-Chalcidian type, and a chronology for this example between the second half of the 4th c. BC and the early part of the 2nd c. BC (long span) and probably in the early 3rd c BC (short time-span). This means that the helmet was manufactured in the Peninsula long before the Roman presence and even before the military conquest by the Barquids at the end of the 3rd c. BC. This implies an early knowledge of the Graeco-Italic prototypes long before these events.
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