Protohistoric vitreous materials of Italy: From early faience to Final Bronze Age glasses

Vitreous materials were known in the Near.East and Egypt from the 4th millennium BC; faience became common during the 3rdll)illennium from the dynastic time(Aspinall et al. 1912, 27), whereas the mass-production of glass started in the 2nd millennium BC (Henderson 2000, 52). Investigations of Near Eastern samples have shown the presence of'high magnesium glasses (IDv[G) frem the 19th century Bç at 'Ain 'Abata (Jordan) and Tel Dan (Israel); simìlar glass composition were found in materìals from more recent sites, lik:eNuzi (Iraq), Ulu Burun (Turkey), Tell Al-Rimah (Iraq), as summarized by Henderson (Henderson 2000, 54-9). The early Egyptian glasses are of the HMG type and during the 15-1 4th centuries B'C the Egyptian production includes copper blue and cebalt blue frits, glasses and faience (Tite and Shortland 2Q03). The earliest materials indicating the use ofNa-rieh rninerals as the alkali source in low magnesium glasses (LMG) glass production are 13-12th centuries BC glasses from Pella (Jordan). Other early LMG glassés are from Tell Brak (Syria) and Crete. The pieture of Bronze Age vitreous material production in the Aegean area is therefore rather complex. A separate class of glasses having mixed alkali chemical composition (LMHK, Iow magnesium high potassium) has been defined formost Europeanmaterials dated to the late 2nç millennìum BC (Henderson2000-, 54-9). The ltalian samples studied in the present work were selected according to theirtypologyand age, for appropriate comparison with coeval samples from the Eastern Mediterranean area.