Pre-Roman coloured glass beads from the Iberian Peninsula: a chemico-physical characterisation study

This paper reports results derived from a chemical and microstructural characterisation study undertaken on a representative sample set of coloured glass beads that recent archaeological fieldwork carried out in the second century BC Celtiberian necropolis of Numantia (Upper Duero Valley, Spain) has...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: García Heras, Manuel, Rincón López, Jesús María, Jimeno Martínez, Alfredo, Villegas Broncano, María Ángeles
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión enviada para evaluación y publicación
Fecha de publicación:2005
País:España
Institución:Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
Repositorio:DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
OAI Identifier:oai:digital.csic.es:10261/418165
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/10261/418165
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Iberian Peninsula
Upper Duero Valley
Pre-Roman glass beads
Coloured glass
Chemico-physical characterisation
Glass technology
Stained glass
Descripción
Sumario:This paper reports results derived from a chemical and microstructural characterisation study undertaken on a representative sample set of coloured glass beads that recent archaeological fieldwork carried out in the second century BC Celtiberian necropolis of Numantia (Upper Duero Valley, Spain) has provided. The main objectives of the research were to understand the production technology and provide some insights into their probable provenance. In addition, corrosion and decay processes were also assessed to determine the influence of the cremation ritual within the beads structure. The resulting data suggest that both soda-lime-silicate and, probably, alumino-silicate glasses were produced in the making of these glassy materials, using some transition metal oxides as chromophores or colouring agents. The compositional evidence gathered also suggests that Numantian glass beads were the outcome of trade or exchange practices rather than locally produced