Iron Age vessels from the Archaeological Museum of Adria (North-Eastern Italy): a textural, chemical and mineralogical study

In the present study, seven polychrome Iron Age glass vessels from the Archaeological Museum of Adria (North-Eastern Italy) were analysed. These samples belong, typologically and chronologically, to the Mediterranean Groups I, II and III, dating from the 6th to the 1st century BC. Both the transparent blue bodies and the opaque decorations (white, turquoise, yellow in colour) were characterised from the textural (SEM-EDS), mineralogical (XRPD) and chemical (EPMA, LA-ICP-MS) points of view. Results showed that all the samples, except the yellow ones, are silica-soda-lime glasses with natron as flux. Contents of minor and trace elements allowed us to identify, at least, two different sand sources, suggesting that different production sites were active in the Mediterranean area during the Iron Age. Cobalt was identified as the main chromophore of the blue bodies: the combined textural and chemical study led us to hypothesise the nature of its ores. Two main types of opacifiers, characterised by different production technologies, were identified for the opaque samples: calcium antimonate for white and turquoise glasses, yellow antimonate for the yellow ones.