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ROMAN GLASS‐MAKING AT COPPERGATE, YORK? ANALYTICAL EVIDENCE FOR THE NATURE OF PRODUCTION *
Author(s) -
Jackson C. M.,
Joyner L.,
Booth C. A.,
Day P. M.,
Wager E. C. W.,
Kilikoglou V.
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
archaeometry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.716
H-Index - 67
eISSN - 1475-4754
pISSN - 0003-813X
DOI - 10.1111/1475-4754.00120
Subject(s) - frit , petrography , assemblage (archaeology) , tridymite , quartz , pottery , archaeology , debris , glass recycling , materials science , raw material , ceramic , mineralogy , glass industry , geology , metallurgy , chemistry , cristobalite , geography , oceanography , organic chemistry , engineering , waste management
Ceramic vessels and associated vitreous debris, excavated at Coppergate, York, UK, have been interpreted as the remains of Roman glass‐making from the raw materials. This paper reports the results of analysis of this assemblage by XRF, ICPS, XRD, SEM–EDAX and thin‐section petrography. These findings suggest that some ceramic vessels, used as crucibles, have been subjected to temperatures up to 1200°C, well above the firing temperatures of the local domestic assemblage from which they were selected. Analysis of quartz‐rich debris, intimately mixed with glass in some samples and in others interleaved with glassy phases, indicates partially reacted glass‐making raw materials, with α ‐quartz, tridymite and cristoballite phases represented. This could represent evidence either of a failed attempt to frit the raw materials, or a batch that had not fully fused. Variability in the composition of glass at the site is viewed in the light of glass‐making technology, and possible interpretations concerning this episode are discussed in the light of the archaeological evidence.