L'Illyricum

Bavant, Bernard

doi:10.3917/puf.bavan.2012.01.0305

Cited by 2 publications

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“…The material from Lezha is attributed to the seventh century, while the beads from Komani come from ninth- to tenth-century contexts. This is a critical period in the history of the Balkans as it encompasses the Slavic invasion in the seventh century and the Byzantine re-conquest in the ninth (Bavant 2004; Cheynet 2006; Popovic 1980; Lemerle 1980; Fine 1983). The relationship between the vitreous materials and bead morphologies of the two sites can thus reveal how the transitional period impacted the trade of beads and the organisation of supply more generally (for previous studies on glass from the Balkans see, for example, Cholakova et al 2016; Egorkov 2006; Jennings 2010; Schibille 2011; Šmit et al 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The trade of glass beads in early medieval Illyricum: towards an Islamic monopoly

Neri

Gratuze

Schibille

2018

Archaeol Anthropol Sci

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The trade of glass beads has long been assumed to have been under Islamic dominance during the early centuries following the Arab conquest of the Middle East, judged by the prevalence of Islamic beads in the archaeological contexts from Viking Scandinavia to medieval Morocco. This paper explores the impact of the Byzantine-Slavic transition on the use and by extension trade of glass beads in the Balkans from the seventh to the ninth century CE. A series of 48 glass beads and 4 vessel fragments from two excavated sites in modern day Albania have been analysed morphologically, technologically and chemically by LA-ICP-MS. The seventh-century beads from Lezha have typological parallels among central European assemblages and are made from recycled natron-type glass. The presence of a high lead-iron-natron variant is of particular interest as it potentially reflects a regional production. The ninth-century beads from Komani are made from soda-rich plant ash glass from the eastern Mediterranean and Mesopotamia and correspond to an Islamic typology. The chronological and geographical differences are reflected in the distinctive cobalt sources used for the two groups. While the beads from Lezha are coloured with a cobalt not correlated with any particular element, the cobalt source of the Komani samples is associated with zinc, typical of Islamic glass making. It thus appears that the supply of beads during the seventh century when the Balkans were under Slavic occupation relied on regional production and recycled material, and that a long-distance trade with the eastern Mediterranean was revived following the Byzantine re-conquest of the south-eastern Adriatic in the ninth century. Intriguingly, the Albanian finds confirm the Islamic control of the production and trade of glass beads during this period and highlight the mediatory role of the Byzantine Empire.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The trade of glass beads in early medieval Illyricum: towards an Islamic monopoly

Neri

Gratuze

Schibille

2018

Archaeol Anthropol Sci

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“…Mate Suić published a concise historical and archaeological overview of the cities on the eastern Adriatic coast and their transformation in Late Antiquity (Suić 1976a;reprint 2003). These early monographic publications were followed in the 1980s by numerous articles discussing Greece (Dagron 1984;Spieser 1984;Bavant 1984;Sodini 1984), Serbia and to a certain degree also the rest of the Eastern Empire (Popović, V. 1982), North Macedonia (Wiseman 1984;Mikulčić 1986) and Slovenia (Petru 1982;Ciglenečki 1987a). Later came a multitude of new papers, including those specifically addressing the alterations to the Roman city in Late Antiquity (e.g.…”

Section: Cities 21 Altered Appearance Of Late Antique Citiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Between Ravenna and Constantinople

Ciglenečki¹

2023

Opera Instituti Archaeologici Sloveniae

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L'Illyricum

Cited by 2 publications

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The trade of glass beads in early medieval Illyricum: towards an Islamic monopoly

The trade of glass beads in early medieval Illyricum: towards an Islamic monopoly

Between Ravenna and Constantinople

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