XRF analysis of glass beads from the Mycenaean palace of Nestor at Pylos, Peloponnesus, Greece: new insight into the LBA glass trade

Silk Road glass in Xinjiang, China: chemical compositional analysis and interpretation using a high-resolution portable XRF spectrometer

“…The second paper (Polikreti et al, 2011) applied pXRF to unprepared but relatively unweathered Mycenaean glass beads in order to distinguish an Egyptian or Mesopotamian origin for the glass. The authors depend on the suggestion by Shortland et al (2007) that titanium (Ti) and zirconium (Zr) levels are elevated in Egyptian glass but not in Mesopotamian glass.…”

Transition in the use of cobalt-blue colorant in the New Kingdom of Egypt

“…Deep blue glass colored with a cobalt-blue colorant has been identified in some of the earliest known Egyptian glasses (Lilyquist and Brill, 1993) and its use became common and mass-produced at the glass workshops in Malkata (early 14th century BC) and Amarna (mid-14th century BC). Egyptian cobalt-blue glass was exported to the Mediterranean region (Walton et al, 2009;Jackson and Nicholson, 2010;Polikreti et al, 2011). In addition, at these sites, cobalt-blue colorants were commonly used in making blue faience (Lucas and Harris, 1962;Kaczmarczyk and Hedges, 1983;Tite and Shortland, 2003).…”

The technology, trade, and degradation pathologies of late bronze age vitreous materials in the Eastern Mediterranean

“…The sites are located in areas along trade routes used in the Late Bronze Age for the exchange of a wide range of artifact types, which includes prestige goods such as glass (Pulak 1998;Souyoudzoglou-Haywood 1999;Bejko 2002). In addition to being located along sea trade routes, ancient Methone and the sites of Kefalonia are near Mycenaean palatial centers that used, and may have worked, glass and faience (Nikita and Henderson 2006;Smirniou et al 2009;Polikreti et al 2011). This study also looked at the trade of these materials, and more specifically at the origins of the glass and faience artifacts uncovered at the sites to provide information on which primary production sources they came from.…”

“…Other colorants, such as copper and/or cobalt, were added to the black glasses from Amarna to produce a much darker glass. Three black glass beads from the Mycenaean site of Pylos were colored with manganese (0.023-0.57 wt%) without the addition of another colorant to darken the glass (Polikreti et al 2011)…”

“…(Walton et al 2009). At the site of Pylos, a group of globular beads excavated from older levels at the site were found to have originated in the Near East (Polikreti et al 2011).…”