Early Iron Age ‘black’ glass in Southwestern Iberia: typology, distribution, and context

Abstract

In the past few years, deeply colored black-appearing glass has garnered a growing interest in the context of research on Iron Age glass technology and trade. The numerous ‘black’ glass beads found in Early Iron Age contexts of Southern Portugal have not however been considered in this discussion, and they remain largely unsystematized. In this contribution, a typological survey of these objects is presented which highlights their unusual concentration in a well-delimited area of Southern Portugal and their relatively circumscribed chronological setting. This is particularly striking when compared with other groups of beads, namely blue beads of various types, which are much more widespread and long-lasting. The global position of these beads is also considered, with typological comparisons and the few available compositional data suggesting that they may be the product of Punic, and perhaps specifically Carthaginian trade with the Western Iberian Peninsula. Finally, the possible specific historic context in which these beads arrived in Southern Portugal is considered.

An Archaeometric Analysis of Black-Appearing Iron Age Glass Beads from Vinha das Caliças 4 (Portugal)

“…400 Egyptian faience discoid beads [50]. Like in other Iron Age funerary sites in Southern Portugal, black-appearing beads feature prominently at Vinha das Caliças 4 [3,50]. However, black-appearing glass has not been the main focus of previous archaeometric studies of glass beads from the site [35,53].…”

“…The beginning of the 1st millennium BCE, roughly coinciding with the start of the Iron Age (IA) in the Mediterranean, saw a critical shift in glassmaking technologies from the Bronze Age tradition of using plant ash (HMG glass) and a mixed type of alkali (HMLK glass) to the increasing use of mineral soda, or natron, as a flux (LMG) [1][2][3][4][5][6]. Since natural occurrences of natron are geographically limited to evaporitic deposits in the Eastern Mediterranean [7], natron glass production would have to have been organised relatively close to natron sources to be cost-effective.…”

A necrópole do Cerro do Ouro (Ourique): reflexões sobre os enterramentos em urna nas necrópoles tumulares do Baixo Alentejo

“…Este tipo de contas -sobretudo as de morfologia esférica -são frequentes nos conjuntos da Idade do Ferro do Sul de Portugal (Gomes 2021b), e em particular nos da região de Ourique, destacando -se claramente o conjunto da necrópole da Fonte Santa (Ourique) (Beirão 1986: 71; Gomes 2021b: Fig. 4), a que podem ainda somar -se outros exemplos das necrópoles da Mealha Nova (Ourique) (Dias -Beirão -Coelho 1970: 218), de Fernão Vaz (Ourique) (Beirão 1986: 71) e da Chada (Beirão 1986: 89).…”

Known Glass Compositions in Iron Age Europe—Current Synthesis and Emerging Questions

“…Morphologically simple objects, such as monochrome glass beads or polychrome eye-beads, are not highly informative in terms of chronology or the possible location of secondary workshops, since similar decorative schemes were in use throughout the whole 1st millennium BCE [13][14][15]. On the other hand, some regionally, chronologically, or contextually limited forms-for example, "black" glass beads from funerary sites in Southern Portugal [16], glass-bow fibulae (Bügelfibeln) from the Apennine peninsula [17], Hellenistic core-formed vessels [18][19][20], ram-head pendants in Slovenia [21], Celtic bracelets [22][23][24][25], and amphorae-shaped beads [26]-serve to show that glass was not merely an exotic import, but also a material that was actively manipulated to fulfil the needs of various populations during the 1st millennium BCE.…”

“…In other words, Iron Age Europe was a culturally heterogenous area and period, the current knowledge of which is heavily influenced by historically different research approaches across European countries. Having the basic knowledge of a certain type of material-in this case, glass-provides a solid basis for addressing external and internal factors that shape cultural processes, even including highly complex ones, such as identity formation or skill transfer [7,16,27]. This is because glassmaking implies that certain technical requirements, such as procuring suitable raw materials or adequate mastery of pyrotechnology, need to be met regardless of the period or cultural ascription.…”