Medieval Glasses (Archaeology)

Die Lage und der grobe Anlageplan der Glashütte im Mönchgraben zwischen Bernstein, Salmannsdorf und Günseck
konnte durch ALS-Daten erfasst und kartiert werden. Fundstücke geben Hinweise auf die Ofenbauweise, die Größe
und Beschaffenheit der Tiegel sowie die Formen und das Farbspektrum der Glasproduktion. - ROHVERSION - PUBLISHED VERSION ALSO ONLINE AT ACADEMIA.EDU

An archaeological research excavation was conducted in the area immediately surrounding an upstanding glassmaking furnace near Shinrone, Co. Offaly, Ireland. It dates to the early to mid 17th century and was built and operated by French Huguenots, probably de Hennezells (de Hennezel/Henzeys/Hensie) who had settled in this region as part of the Crown plantation of King's County (now Co. Offaly). This furnace, which employed wood rather than coal as a fuel, is a very rare survival, with no other upstanding examples known in Ireland, Britain or the Lorraine region of France where the form probably originated. 17TH-CENTURY GLASSMAKING IN CO. OFFALY [[email protected]] [Caimin.O'[email protected]] [[email protected]] [h.willmott@sheffi eld.ac.uk]

http://books.openedition.org.inshs.bib.cnrs.fr/efr/7882>. ISBN : 9782728314072
The lead-silver deposit at Melle was opened during the sixth century AD. The exploitation took off in the second half of the seventh century to decline and die out in the tenth century. Thus, for nearly four centuries, Melle was a high place of silver production in Europe, and probably the first of the Carolingian empire. However, it is no longer possible to reduce Melle’s mining production of silver alone. The lead, an obvious by-product of the smelting of argentiferous galena, must be taken into account. More unexpected, glass is also included in this technical and economic scheme. The work undertaken on the dissemination of the mine’s products across Europe associated with the archaeological excavations at Melle highlights the productive logic of this major silver mining exploitation whose first victim was the neighbouring forest.

Sklo je jedným z najstarších materiálov vyrobených človekom. Vo viac ako päťtisíc ročnej histórii s výnimkou posledných cca 550 rokov boli sklené výrobky luxusným tovarom určeným pre na-jvyššie spoločenské vrstvy. Jeho výskyt v určitom regióne bol známkou ekonomickej prosperity, politickej stability a dobrých obchodných i kultúrnych kontaktov s produkčnými centrami. Na výskyte skla je možné sledovať vzájomné vzťahy i s veľmi vzdialenými krajmi-v praveku hlavne s východným Stredomorím, v antike zas s regiónmi dnešného Talianska. Vyše päť rokov kolektív autorov systematicky spracovával nálezy skla z archeologických vý-skumov v Bratislave. Výsledky výskumu stredovekého skla (13.-½ 16. stor.) boli publikované v dvoch štúdiách v Památkách archeologických (Sedláčková et al. 2014; Sedláčková et al. 2016). Re-nesančnému a barokovému sklu sa venovala monografia pripravená a vydaná s podporou Gran-tové agentury ČR (Sedláčková /Rohanová et al. 2016). V rámci uvedeného projektu vznikli aj ďal-šie štúdie sa zaoberali čiastkovými témami spojenými so sklom (Jordánková/ Rohanová/ Sedláčková 2014; Rohanová/ Sedláčková 2015; Šimončičová Koóšová 2014; Šimončičová Koóšová et al. 2017). Neoddeliteľnou súčasťou všetkých prác boli chemické analýzy, ktoré v mnohých prípadoch po-tvrdili predpoklad o pôvode výrobkov, v iných ponúkli nový pohľad rozširujúci poznanie o pro-veniencii i technológii výroby. Cieľom nášho príspevku je podnietiť výskum a spracovanie doteraz nevyhodnotených ná-lezov skla z ďalších lokalít na Slovensku. Tým je možné doplniť a rozšíriť poznatky o historickej roli skla získané z nálezových súborov v Bratislave. Inšpiráciou pre ďalší výskum môže byť typo-logický prehľad vychádzajúci z vyššie uvedených štúdií, v ktorých bádatelia nájdu aj podrobné informácie či literatúru. Typy sklenených nádob z Bratislavy sú asi do polovice 15. storočia v podstate zhodné s nález-mi z Moravy. Preto pre obdobie 13.-½ 16. stor. bola použitá typológia vypracovaná pre Moravu (Sedláčková 2003; Sedláčková 2005). Sklo z obdobia renesancie a baroka nadväzuje na typologické triedenie Kingy Tarcsay (Tarcsay 2009) vypracované podľa nálezov zo sklárne v Reichenau (Dolné Rakúsko).

After a brief review of the research on late Antique and Early Medieval glass in Illyricum, the paper discusses the preliminary results obtained from the typological and archaeometric study (through LA-ICP-MS) of glass vessels and beads from Lezha and Komani. These sites are located in north-west Albania: Lezha (ancient Lissos, situated on the Adriatic coast) and Komani (known also with the toponym Dalmace, in the nearby inland), both in the Drini valley. Although Komani and Lezha inherited a very different past, they reflect comparable phenomena of transition between late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, both in terms of settlement patterns and the social structure of their inhabitants. The archaeological research carried out on both sites reveals a particularly rich medieval funerary and ecclesiastical contexts, dating from the 6th to the 12th century.
This study aims to analyze production and trade in Western Illyricum between the 4th and 11th centuries, comparing the commercial dynamics of the two sites.
At Lezha, the typology and chemical signature of the beads, found mostly in 7th-8th century contexts, reveal a western or local supply route. Komani beads, found in 9th-11th century graves, were mainly imported from the Abbasid Caliphate. On the other hand, vessels, lamps and unguentaria, found in churches, were probably produced within the Byzantine Empire and are similar to examples from Northern Greece. Beads and vessels, used respectively by the civic and ecclesiastic elites, follow two different commercial circuits within the same site. In conclusion, the differences between the commercial networks of the two sites, Lezha turned to the Adriatic and Komani connected with the Steppe testify to economic changes that took place between the 7th and 9th centuries.

Viking-age gaming sets containing boards, dice and counters made of bone, antler, clay, stone and amber are known from graves and on settlement sites in England, France, Germany, Scandinavian countries, Poland, Ukraine and Russia. The pieces of the single set are almost always of the same form, apart from the ‘king piece’ which differs in colour, size or shape. The number of gaming pieces in each archaeological find varies from one to forty-seven.  Gaming pieces of glass are much rarer than counters of other materials.
Glass gaming sets and single counters were found in the rich graves and on the settlement sites in Norway, Sweden, Russia and Ukraine dated to the 9th - early 11th centuries AD. All counters from Eastern Europe apart from the ‘king pieces’ are of similar size and form, combining inverted truncated cone and hemisphere. They were produced of translucent purple-violet, turquoise, dark green, blue-green or green-olive glass and decorated by gilding or applied spiral glass threads of the second colour. Despite the widespread of board games in Byzantium, Islamic Orient and Medieval Europe, the origin of the Viking-age glass counters is still unclear. This paper focuses on the technological study of the glass gaming pieces from Gnezdovo and analytical study of their chemical composition.
A set of thirteen glass gaming pieces completed with oval and round pebbles was discovered in situ in the largest burial chamber from Gnezdovo (OL-30) dated to the second part of the 10th century AD according to the Arabic coins set placed to the grave and C14 dates. Gaming pieces were found also and in the cultural layers of the Gnezdovo settlements. Gaming pieces were produced by moulding into open stone or earthenware mould. Standard height of the items indicates to standard portions of glass filled each mould. A considerable part of the counters shows negative marks of a punty rod slightly chipping the top of the hemispherical surface. In certain cases, ring-shaped scars are detected on the base of the glass pieces decorated with gold. It is possible that purple and turquoise items were held by a metal tube when the gold foil was applied on the top of the glass hemisphere and narrow beams spread over from the top to equator. Annealing at the temperature about 550ºC was possibly a final manufacturing operation.
The samples available for non-destructive analysis include 16 gaming pieces. Scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive x-ray spectrometry (SEM-EDX) was used to analyse the glass composition in a vacuum. Quantification was performed by FP calculations. Obtained results are not completely representative for the bulk composition of the glass because of alkali leached out from the surface leaving behind a body with an outer layer enriched with silicon dioxide. All samples belong to soda-lime-silica glasses with the relatively high level of potassium and magnesium contributes approximately 0.68 – 3,02% by weight of the batch. It indicates that the glass gaming pieces from Gnezdovo were made with soda derived from plant ashes employed as an alkali in the inland regions of the Near East. Gaming pieces of glass dated to the 9th -11th centuries were found in Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan and Egypt. However, their conical form and mosaic technique differ from the Viking-age glass counters.