Archaeological research at Tié (Kanem, Chad): excavations on Mound 1

LA‐ICP‐MS analysis of glass beads from Tié (12th–14th centuries), Kanem, Chad: Evidence of trans‐Sudanic exchanges

“…The glass beads from Tié’s Mounds 1 and 2 are part of a major assemblage of beads and other items of personal adornment retrieved along with cultural materials such as pottery, metal artefacts, fired bricks as well as animal bones and charred plant remains (Magnavita & Bouimon, 2020: 90) 1 . The bead assemblage itself encompasses 199 artefacts.…”

“…As regards the glass beads from Mound 1, they stem from cultural layer 2a that accumulated along the south‐east outer corner of the building sometime between the mid‐13th and late 14th centuries CE (Magnavita & Bouimon, 2020: 93). That layer was exposed by a 4 m 2 and 3.8 m deep test excavation (unit J6) that also uncovered the building’s foundation (Magnavita & Bouimon, 2020). Altogether, 49 glass beads were retrieved from the deposits of layer 2a.…”

“…Bivar & Shinnie, 1962: 7–8; Zeltner, 1980: 110). The site consists of a 3.2 ha fired‐brick enclosure constructed sometime between the mid‐12th to mid‐13th centuries and occupied until the late 14th or early 15th centuries (Magnavita, 2021; Magnavita & Bouimon, 2020). The enclosure encompasses a number of important archaeological features.…”

“…Two are Mounds 1 and 2 that were partially excavated in late 2019. Mound 1 conceals the ruins of a high‐status fired‐brick building (about 16.8 × 23.4 m) with lime‐plastered interior walls (Magnavita & Bouimon, 2020), while Mound 2 is the place’s major refuse heap. The glass beads considered in the next pages derive from the deposits of those two mounds.…”