Introduction: The present study focuses on Late-Roman/Early Medieval glass found in the productive area within the ancient harbour of Classe near Ravenna, one of the most important trade centres between the 5 th and 8 th centuries AD of the Northern Adriatic area. Aims of the study were the identification of the main glass compositions and their contextualisation in Late-Antique groups; the identification of provenance of raw glass, and, consequently, of commercial routes; the extent, if any, of recycling glass cullet, as an alternative to the import of fresh raw glass; the identification of possible connections between archaeological typology and glass chemical composition.Results: 32 glassworking wastes and 25 drinking vessel fragments for a total amount of 57 fragments were devoted to chemical analysis in XRF and EPMA. All the analysed fragments are silica-soda lime glasses, produced with natron as a flux, and are compositionally similar to Late-Antique groups HIMT, Série 3.2 and Levantine1. Raw glass chunks, glassworking wastes and objects of comparable compositions are identified into HIMT and Série 3.2 groups, while the Levantine 1 group includes only objects and glassworking wastes. Systematic comparisons between Classe and Aquileia, the two most important Late-Antique archaeological sites of North-Eastern Italy, were also carried out, and the same compositional groups were identified, although Série 3.2 in the Classe assemblage is more represented. Sr and Nd isotopic analysis confirmed that the composition of the three glasses derive from coastal sands of the Syro-Palestinian and Egyptian shore, with a slight shift in comparison to the published data. Little evidence of recycling was identified in the assemblage. Conclusions:In the 5 th century, a secondary glass workshop devoted to the shaping of glass vessels starting from raw glass chunks and, possibly, glass cullet, was active in the area of the harbour. Raw glass of HIMT and Série 3.2 was imported from the Levant and Egypt. Comparisons between Classe and Aquileia show that during the Late Antiquity these sites seem to be supplied of raw glass by the same trade routes. In addition, some connections between types and chemical compositions were highlighted.

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In the Late Roman period, the city of Butrint (SW Albania) was one of the most important seaports of the eastern Mediterranean due to its very favorable position and an extended presence of human settlements (from the 5th century BC to the modern age). The city seems to have particularly flourished after being declared a Roman colony under Augustus in 31 BC, but even after the Roman period, Butrint remained a central node in eastern trade routes. During the archaeological campaign of 2011 directed by David Hernandez (University of Notre Dame -US), aimed at identifying the eastern border of the Butrint Roman Forum, several glass artifacts were recovered and dated to the late antique and early medieval period. In this study 33 fragments of glass (32 transparent, 1 opaque) were analyzed from different objects (drinking glasses, bowls, etc) mostly dated from the 5th to the 6th centuries AD. The aims of this work are: i) understanding the raw materials, the manufacturing techniques employed for glass production, and their evolution through the time; ii) correctly classifying items of uncertain date; iii) interpreting the economic development and trade models of the area. Chemical analyses were performed by electron microprobe (EMPA) for major and minor elements and by ICP mass spectroscopy (LA-ICP-MS) for trace elements. The chemical results indicate that the samples were produced with natron as fluxing agent. They can be divided, on the basis of the concentrations of Fe, Ti, and Mn, between the two main compositional groups widespread in the Mediterranean from the 4th century onward: HIMT (23 samples), and Levantine I (10 samples). Among the HIMT samples, both "weak" HIMT (13 samples), and "strong" HIMT (10 samples) were identified. This variety of compositions indicates that in Butrint, between the end of the 4th and the end of the 6th century, the glass materials were probably imported from different suppliers.Chrono-typological and chemical classification of glass from Butrint are reported.Comparison of glass varieties with the coeval production in the Mediterranean.Correspondence of chemical and typological/chronological groups is shown.Levantine I and HIMT are distinguished on chronological basis and product quality.Compositional grouping aids chronological definition of finds and site stratigraphy.

The paper reports and discusses data obtained by archaeological and archaeometric studies of glass vessels and tesserae from the qasr of Khirbet al-Mafjar (near Jericho, Palestine). Archaeological contextualisation of the site and chrono-typological study of glass vessels were associated to EPMA and LA-ICP-MS analyses, performed to characterise the composition of the glassy matrix (major and minor components as well as trace elements). Analyses allowed achieving meaningful and intriguing results, which gain insights into the production and consumption of glass vessels and tesserae in the near East during the Umayyad period (7-8th centuries). Within the analysed samples, both an Egyptian and a Levantine manufacture have been identified: such data provide evidence of a double supply of glass from Egypt and the Syro-Palestinian coast in the Umayyad period occurring not only in the glassware manufacture, but also in the production of base glass intended to be used in the manufacture of mosaic tesserae. Thus, the achieved results represent the first material evidence of a nonunivocal gathering of glass tesserae from Byzantium and the Byzantines in the manufacture of early Islamic mosaics.

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