Different glassmaking technologies in the production of Iron Age black glass from Italy and Slovakia

This study presents the results of an archaeometrical investigation performed on 75 black glass beads dated to the ninth–fifth century BC coming from Bologna, Cumae, and Pozzuoli (Italy), and Chotin (Slovakia). The analyses of the major, minor, and trace elements—as well as that of Sr and Nd isotopes performed on a selection of samples coming from Bologna—provided evidence for two different production technologies in Iron Age black glass found in Italy (natron glass, probably produced in Egypt) and Slovakia (wood ash glass, probably produced in Europe). In both cases, the glasses derive their black colouration from the high presence of iron (around 12 % FeO), introduced into the glass batches through the intentional choice of dark sands. The production model appears to be small-scale and experimental, characterised by the use of non-sorted raw materials and poorly defined formulae, producing glass with a high chemical variability. The wood ash technology appears to have dropped out of use in Europe until the Medieval period, while natron production spread quickly, becoming predominant throughout the Mediterranean.     

Success of a flexible behavior. Considerations on the manufacture of Late Epigravettian lithic projectile implements according to experimental tests

It is generally recognized that the function and modality of hafting are the main factors influencing mental templates, and consequently, stone tool standardization. But what role do technical knowledge and traditions play? In this study, we investigate the interaction between mental templates and technological choices in the manufacture of Late Epigravettian projectile implements. The examined specimens come from different dwelling phases of the Dalmeri rock shelter (Italian Alps). Technological analyses suggest that lithic production systems gradually simplified their structure over time, implying a shift in technical investment from shaping on the core to a subsequent shaping on the derived flake blank. However, correlations between the dimensions and morphological features among the armatures from the different units suggest that mental templates remained unchanged throughout the Alleröd. Experimentation attests to the frequent combined application of different retouching techniques. Further, the variability in their arrangement denotes the absence of strict rules and the Epigravettian capability to recognize the most situationally suitable method. In the Dalmeri rock shelter, the standardization of lithic projectile implements is therefore a result of flexibility in retouching, framed in a production system characterized by a progressive simplification. A such rapidly produced and responsive technology must have been encouraged by Late Glacial climatic and environmental changes and the occupation of alpine territories previously inaccessible. Thus, the flexibility of technical behaviors turns out to be a key element in the transformation of Late Epigravettian societies during this period, enabling them to adapt and evolve in response to environmental, social, and economic changes.     

The Mediterranean Group II: analyses of vessels from Etruscan contexts in northern Italy

A large number of Mediterranean Group vessels were recovered at the Etruscan site of Spina in northern Italy and dated from the 6th to the 3rd century BC. In this work a number of vessels belonging to the so-called “Group II” were analysed. The samples are mainly Alabastra, Oinochoai, Amphoriskoi, and Hydriai, in general opaque and deeply coloured. The aims of this study are: 1) to characterize these samples since there is a lack of data in literature regarding Mediterranean Group II; and 2) to compare the data obtained with that of glass for previous centuries (Mediterranean Group I) recovered at the same site in order to establish whether they could have the same origin. The chemical analyses of major and minor elements were carried out by electron microprobe and the nature of the opacifying and colouring agents was determined by X-ray diffraction. The sample set is relatively homogeneous and most of the samples can be classified as Low Magnesium Glass produced with natron and a calcareous silicatic sand. The XRD analyses proved the use of lead antimonates in the manufacture of yellow decorations and of calcium antimonates in the white and light blue decorations. The consistency of the chemical compositions of Mediterranean Groups I and II samples makes it possible to hypothesize a common origin.     

Considering the effects of the Byzantine–Islamic transition: Umayyad glass tesserae and vessels from the <Emphasis Type="Italic">qasr</Emphasis> of Khirbet al-Mafjar (Jericho,Palestine)

The paper reports and discusses data obtained by archaeological and archaeometric studies of glass vessels and tesserae from the qasr of Khirbet al-Mafjar (near Jericho, Palestine). Archaeological contextualisation of the site and chrono-typological study of glass vessels were associated to EPMA and LA–ICP–MS analyses, performed to characterise the composition of the glassy matrix (major and minor components as well as trace elements). Analyses allowed achieving meaningful and intriguing results, which gain insights into the production and consumption of glass vessels and tesserae in the near East during the Umayyad period (seventh–eighth centuries). Within the analysed samples, both an Egyptian and a Levantine manufacture have been identified: such data provide evidence of a double supply of glass from Egypt and the Syro-Palestinian coast in the Umayyad period occurring not only in the glassware manufacture but also in the production of base glass intended to be used in the manufacture of mosaic tesserae. Thus, the achieved results represent the first material evidence of a non-exclusive gathering of glass tesserae from Byzantium and the Byzantines in the manufacture of early Islamic mosaics.     

Seeds/fruits,pollen and parasite remains as evidence of site function: piazza Garibaldi – Parma (N Italy) in Roman and Mediaeval times

Archaeobotanical analyses were carried out on layers from the site of Piazza Garibaldi in Parma, a town located in the plain of Emilia Romagna, in northern Italy. The layers dated to the 3rd–2nd centuries BC, around the time of the foundation of the Roman town, and to the 10th–11th centuries AD. According to archaeological data, the site was a sacred area in Roman times, while it was a market square in Mediaeval times. Data from pollen and seeds/fruits were useful for both palaeoenvironmental and palaeoethnobotanical reconstructions, and together with NPPs including parasite remains contributed to add details on the function of the site in the different chronological phases.     

Florence baptistery: chemical and mineralogical investigation of glass mosaic tesserae

A recent restoration of the mosaics of the Baptistery in Florence enabled the collection and analysis of a group of glass tesserae. Twenty-three tesserae, dated between the end of the 13th century and the first half of the 14th century, showing different colors were sampled and analyzed to identify the raw materials, colorants and opacifiers employed in their production.     

‘Con il volere di Dio’: Bernardo Provenzano and religious symbolic ritual

This article adopts an interdisciplinary approach to analyse the symbolic religious language utilised by mafia boss Bernardo Provenzano in his social interactions with the lower echelons of the Sicilian mafia. When Provenzano assumed control of Cosa Nostra in the 1990s, he inherited an organisation severely diminished by a decade of internal conflicts, violence and the arrest of numerous leaders. The article argues that religious performative behaviour and language were used by the mafia boss to establish his leadership over Cosa Nostra, reshape its internal structure, and thereby revitalise an organisation in apparent terminal decline.     

Pre-Roman glass from Mozia (Sicily-Italy): the first archaeometrical data

This study present the results of an archaeometrical investigation performed on a series of opaque pre-Roman glass (vessels and ornaments) dated from the 6th to 4th century BC coming from Sicily. Sixteen core formed vessels, twelve beads, three pendants and one spindle-whorl recovered in the Phoenician-Punic sites of Mozia and Birgi were analysed thought a micro destructive approach. The complete chemical analyses and X-Ray diffraction analyses were performed on small fragments of glass. The aims of this work are: 1) to obtain a chemical characterization of these samples in order to understand the raw materials employed for their production; 2) to obtain information regarding the opacifying phases dispersed in the glass; 3) to make a comparison with the results recently obtained on coeval and similar finds recovered in other cultural context, in particular in Northern Italian Etruscan contexts in order to understand whether they could belong to the same Greek-Eastern production.     

The first archaeometric data on polychrome Iron Age glass from sites located in northern Italy

A large sample set of transparent and opaque glass artefacts recovered from Etruscan contexts in northern Italy (Bologna and Spina (FE) necropoleis) and dated to a period between the 6th and 4th century BC are analysed in this paper. Samples of highly decorated beads, spindle whorls and vessels of the ‘Mediterranean Group I’ (Alabastron, Oinochoes, Amphoriskos) were selected in order to determine whether these different glass artefacts were produced at the same manufacturing site. While the vessels almost certainly originate from Greece, the beads could derive from a more ancient local production ascertained at the site of Frattesina (Rovigo, Italy) and dated to the Bronze Age.