Roman glass found at Jalame, in Western Galilee, and dating from the fourth century A.D., shows a variety of colors ranging from aqua blue to green to amber. It was found that the glasses are quite reduced and that the colors arise from absorptions by Fe2+ and a ferri‐sulfide chromophore. Small amounts of colorless and purple glass, which had been oxidized by adding MnO2, were also found.

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The medieval port city of Sīrāf (ca. 800-1050 CE) on the north coast of the Persian/Arabian Gulf linked the core lands of the 'Abbāsid caliphate with India, China, Africa, and beyond. 101 glass fragments recovered from the 1966-1973 excavations at Sīrāf and now at the Corning Museum of Glass were analysed using LA-ICPMS in order to explore the glassmaking raw materials and technology of the objects found within the city, as well as to address issues of the production and trade of glass during the Islamic period. The results indicate that the main groups of glass at Sīrāf likely date to the 9 th -early 11 th centuries and can be subdivided by the trace elements zirconium and chromium. Chemical matches with some likely Indian glass, and with glass finds from South and Southeast Asia, underline the pivotal role of the Gulf in the eastward movement of Islamic glass via the Indian Ocean trade network, as well as the influx of Indian glass into the Islamic world. Glass bangles and a small number of vessel fragments likely date to the late 11 th century or later, and their chemical compositions indicate different production origins.

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