Islamic Glass Beads

Accounts of Chemical Research, 2002

The chemical analysis of excavated glass fragments from dated archaeological contexts in Raqqa, Syria, has provided a detailed picture of the chemical compositions of artefacts deriving from eighth to ninth and 11th century glassmaking and glassworking activities. Evidence for primary glass production has been found at three excavated sites, of eighth to ninth, 11th and 12th century dates; the first two are discussed here. The 2 km long industrial complex at al-Raqqa was associated with an urban landscape consisting of two Islamic cities (al-Raqqa and al-Rafika) and a series of palace complexes. The glass fused and worked there was presumably for local as well as for regional consumption.

A refuse deposit at HaGolan Street, Khirbet al-Ḥadra, northeastern Tel Aviv, is rich in debris deriving from an Islamic period glass workshop, dating to the 7the8th centuries. Twenty-four samples of glass vessels, chunks and moils were analysed by electron microprobe. Glass used in the workshop derives from three primary sources: Egypt II, somewhere in inland Egypt, Beth Eli'ezer, near Hadera, Israel and a third group which appears to represent a previously unknown Levantine primary production centre. Glass corresponding to at least twelve production events has been identified. While vessels made of Beth Eli'ezer and Egypt II glass have previously been reported from the same context, this is the first time that they have been related to the products of a single workshop. It appears that glass from both primary production centres was available in the later 8th century, and that the glass workers at HaGolan St were obliged to balance the high working and fuel costs of the stiff low-soda Levantine glass against the better working properties but higher raw material costs of the high-soda glass from Egypt.

Journal of Archaeological Science 62, 2015 (With I.C. Freestone, I. Taxel and O. Tal)

A refuse deposit at HaGolan Street, Khirbet al-Ḥadra, northeastern Tel Aviv, is rich in debris deriving from an Islamic period glass workshop, dating to the 7the8th centuries. Twenty-four samples of glass vessels, chunks and moils were analysed by electron microprobe. Glass used in the workshop derives from three primary sources: Egypt II, somewhere in inland Egypt, Beth Eli'ezer, near Hadera, Israel and a third group which appears to represent a previously unknown Levantine primary production centre. Glass corresponding to at least twelve production events has been identified. While vessels made of Beth Eli'ezer and Egypt II glass have previously been reported from the same context, this is the first time that they have been related to the products of a single workshop. It appears that glass from both primary production centres was available in the later 8th century, and that the glass workers at HaGolan St were obliged to balance the high working and fuel costs of the stiff low-soda Levantine glass against the better working properties but higher raw material costs of the high-soda glass from Egypt.

Medieval Islamic unglazed molded ware is a common but little-studied type with great potential for use as an interpretive tool in Islamic archaeology. This article presents the current state of knowledge about molded ceramics by organizing and synthesizing the evidence from published sites across the Islamic world and, using the information from these sites, generates a new typology with distinct periodization between the 9th to the 13th century. This typology is then compared with stratigraphically excavated finds from a newly-discovered 13th century molded ceramic workshop at the site of medieval Bālis, Syria. Finally, the article argues that, like fine glazed ceramics, molded wares function as carriers of cultural meaning. Because they imitate more expensive luxury items made of metal, molded wares provide tantalizing clues to the taste and consumption patterns of a kind of “middle class” of urban dwellers in medieval Syria.

2010

Antiquity, 2019

E m e r y a n d C l a i r e Y a s s P u b l i c a t i o n s i n A r c h a e o l o g y P.O.B. 39040, Tel Aviv 69978 Israel 5 Salvage Excavation Reports Front cover Counterclockwise from top left: MBA scarab stamped impression on a jar handle A coin of Alexander Jannaeus (104-76 BCE) Early Islamic lamps and juglet Cover design: Yura Smertenko

Archaeometry, 2024

Glass beads from two Islamic archaeological sites in the Tagus valley in central Spain were selected and analysed by laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS), and a subset of samples (n = 6) was analysed for Pb isotopes by multicollector thermal ionization mass spectrometry (MC-TIMS). The analytical and isotopic data of the beads from Ciudad de Vascos (Toledo) and Albalat (C aceres) demonstrate beyond reasonable doubt that glass beads were produced in the Iberian Peninsula during the Islamic period using local Pb-silica and sodarich plant-ash glass. The bead workshops in al-Andalus were evidently part of an efficient system of glass collection and recycling, and used only relatively simple bead-making techniques such as winding and folding. At present it is unclear to what extent the Islamic beadmakers in the Iberian Peninsula were involved in the international trade in glass beads or whether their products were mainly destined for a regional market. Despite local production, some samples show compositional and typological features that suggest the import of finished glass beads, perhaps from Central Asia.

Oren Gutfeld RAMLA FINAL REPORT ON THE EXCAVATIONS NORTH OF THE WHITE MOSQUE With contributions by Nitzan Amitai-Preiss, Katia Cytryn-Silverman, Yael Gorin-Rosen, Elias Khamis, Rachel Laureys-Chachy, Ravit Nenner-Soriano, Matthew J. Ponting, Naama Vilozny