Composition of glass bracelets and rings from the Ayyubid-Mamluk cemetery at Dohaleh, north Jordan. (December 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Al-Bashaireh, Khaled; Freestone, Ian C.; Gregory, Tom
• Is Part Of: Journal of archaeological science. Volume 46(2022)
• Publication Date: 2022-12
• Subjects: Glass bracelets -- Glass production -- Ayyubid-Mamluk -- Dohaleh -- Jordan -- Electron microprobe; Archaeology -- Periodicals; Archaeology -- Research -- Periodicals; 930.1
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jasrep.2022.103689
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2352-409X

Abstract

Highlights: Manganese decolorized Levantine plant ash bracelets, but distant origin of the mineral soda (Anatolia?). Mesopotamian glass bracelet. Wide ranges of sources for the bracelets' production and long-distance transportation. Restricted color palette of the glass made with mineral alkali, with no evidence of manganese decolorization. Abstract: Twenty-six glass bracelets and three finger rings from an Ayyubid-Mamluk (1179–1517 CE) cemetery at Dohaleh, North Jordan, have been analysed by electron microprobe. They fall into six compositional groups, based upon their alkali- and silica-related components. Groups A and F were made using Levantine plant ash but differ in their silica sources, they are typically decolorized using manganese. Groups B, C and E overlap in terms of silica-related components but may be sub-divided on the basis of alkali source; this appears to have been a mineral alkali, possibly from Anatolia. A single bracelet (Group D) shows characteristics of Mesopotamian glass. All groups show evidence of tin-opacification, but the color palette of the mineral soda glasses is more restricted; furthermore, they were not decolorized using manganese. The results suggest that glass bracelets were being obtained from a wide range of sources.