Glass bead trade in northeast Africa.The evidence from Meroitic and post-Meroitic Nubia

Then-Obłuska, Joanna; Wagner, Barbara

doi:10.31338/uw.9788323539070

Cited by 30 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 64 publications

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“…Sample OINE110, on the other hand, with significant concentrations of both Sb and Mn, has a Levantine provenance. A similar Egyptian provenance for Mn decolourized glass has been detected in two beads from the Upper Nubia and dated to the late Meroitic period (Then‐Obłuska and Wagner 2019b, tab. 5.4: MAP 15B, MNW06, tab.…”

Section: Results and Discussion Of Glass Groups And Their Provenancesupporting

confidence: 56%

“…The presence of the Eastern Desert dwellers in the Nile Valley is marked by their handmade pottery, the so‐called Eastern Desert Ware (EDW) that can be traced as far as the Egyptian Red Sea ports of Berenike, Marsa Nakari and Quseir to the east, and the Aksum region in Ethiopia to the south (Barnard 2006, 2008; Barnard and Magid 2006; Manzo 2014). These are sites where glass beads of East Mediterranean and South Asian origin have been macroscopically recognized (Francis 2002, 2007; Then‐Obłuska 2015, 2016, 2017a, 2017b; Then‐Obłuska and Wagner, 2019b). Additionally, laboratory analysis of beads from Quseir and numerous Nubian sites proved their East Mediterranean and South Asian identification (Then‐Obłuska and Dussubieux 2016; Then‐Obłuska and Wagner 2019a, 2019b).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Beads for the nomads of late antiquity: Chemical characterization of glass from the Blemmyan tumuli at Kalabsha, Nubia, of the mid‐fourth century CE

Then-Obłuska

Dussubieux

2021

Archaeometry

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The mobility of the Blemmyes between the Nile Valley and the Red Sea coast, and their skill in trading, are well attested in the literary sources and in the archaeological record. While they operated mainly in the Eastern Desert, their cemeteries, dated to the mid-fourth century CE, were located in the strategic region of the Dodekaschoinos of Lower Nubia. The personal adornments of the Blemmyes are mainly composed of beads, but the glass imports have not yet been scientifically studied. This paper presents the results of an analysis of 34 glass beads from Blemmyan cemeteries around Kalabsha. Compositional analyses using laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry has identified glass belonging to four groups. Numerous glass beads were made from low alumina soda-lime glass (m-Na-Ca, m/v-Na-Ca), mainly associated with Egyptian production. Five beads were made of high-alumina glass. While three of them were produced in South India/Sri Lanka, mixed or recycled glass was the probable source of high alumina in another two beads. One bead was made of plant ash-soda glass. Results provide scientific evidence for the northernmost presence of South Indian/Sri Lankan glass beads in the Nile Valley and hint at the Blemmyan participation in broader regional exchange networks in North-east Africa during a time of intensive overseas trade.

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Section: Results and Discussion Of Glass Groups And Their Provenancesupporting

confidence: 56%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Beads for the nomads of late antiquity: Chemical characterization of glass from the Blemmyan tumuli at Kalabsha, Nubia, of the mid‐fourth century CE

Then-Obłuska

Dussubieux

2021

Archaeometry

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“…Cr‐poor pyrope garnets, whether of Nigerian or Portuguese origin, could also have reached Upper Nubia along one of the Western Desert routes, the Darb el‐Arbain or Wadi Howar, or along the Nile, together with Egyptian and Mediterranean commodities (e.g., Then‐Obłuska and Wagner 2019 for Egyptian and Levantine bead glass in the Nubian Nile Valley; and Emery and Kirwan 1938 and Török 1988, 1989 for the abundance of imports proving Nubia's close links with late Roman Egypt; Then‐Obłuska 2017 for Mediterranean Sea coral).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although there is no archaeological evidence that would allow tracing direct contacts between the West European or Saharan cultures with Nubia, a distribution of the South Indian/Sri Lankan glass bead imports in all regions suggests a far-reaching global net of connections along the trade routes in late antiquity (e.g., Dussubieux et al 2010;Then-Obłuska and Wagner 2019;Pion and Gratuze 2016, Fig. 11;Duckworth et al 2016).…”

Section: A Possible Source Of the Cr-poor Pyrope Beads According To Textual And Archaeological Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This association of garnet stones with Nubian elites is observed later on in the Nobadian royal graves of Qustul and Ballaña, dated to the fourth–sixth century AD, where garnet cabochons decorated silver crowns (Emery and Kirwan 1938). Following the scientific identification of South Indian/Sri Lankan glass beads in Roman and early Byzantine Northeast Africa (Then‐Obłuska and Dussubieux 2016; Then‐Obłuska and Wagner 2019) and Europe (Pion and Gratuze 2016), as well as Indian and possibly Sri Lankan garnets in Europe and the Mediterranean (e.g., Quast and Schüssler 2000; Calligaro et al . 2002; Gilg et al .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Western Connections of Northeast Africa: The Garnet Evidence from Late Antique Nubia, Sudan

et al. 2020

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Outstanding garnet beads were found recently in an elite tumulus dated to the fourth century AD and located at the cemetery of Hagar el‐Beida in the Upper Nubian Nile Valley region. Whereas contacts of Northeast Africa with South Asia have just been proven through analysis of glass beads found in Nubia and dating to the time of intensive Indian Ocean trade, scientific evidence for Nubia's link with the regions to the west was lacking. Laser ablation‐inductively coupled plasma‐mass spectrometry (LA‐ICP‐MS) was used to determine the elemental composition of three garnet beads to gain information about their type and origin. Additionally, we analyzed twelve garnets from two nearby alluvial placer deposits. While the garnet beads are inclusion‐free Cr‐poor and Ti‐rich pyropes related to alkaline mafic volcanic rocks, the local garnet deposits are shown to be inclusion‐rich almandines and thus unrelated to the investigated Nubian beads. Detailed comparison of data from Merovingian cloisonné jewellery and all known sources of the Cr‐poor and Ti‐rich pyropes shows identical ranges of elemental contents. The source of raw materials for the beads found in Nubia has been not identified with certainty yet, but sources in Portugal and Nigeria are suggested and a connection is shown to similar garnets from Merovingian contexts.

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Indian Glass Beads in Northeast Africa Between the First and Sixth Centuries CE

Then-Obłuska

2021

Ancient Glass of South Asia

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Glass bead trade in northeast Africa.The evidence from Meroitic and post-Meroitic Nubia

Cited by 30 publications

References 64 publications

Beads for the nomads of late antiquity: Chemical characterization of glass from the Blemmyan tumuli at Kalabsha, Nubia, of the mid‐fourth century CE

Beads for the nomads of late antiquity: Chemical characterization of glass from the Blemmyan tumuli at Kalabsha, Nubia, of the mid‐fourth century CE

Western Connections of Northeast Africa: The Garnet Evidence from Late Antique Nubia, Sudan

Indian Glass Beads in Northeast Africa Between the First and Sixth Centuries CE

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