Colour and chemical composition in ancient glass: An examination of some roman and wealden glass by means of ultraviolet-visible-infra-red spectrometry and electron microprobe analysis

Roman blue-green bottle glass: chemical–optical analysis and high temperature viscosity modelling

“…The addition of MnO 2 as an oxidising agent for the production of ancient glasses has been suggested (Volf, 1984;Schreurs and Brill, 1984;Green and Hart, 1987). However, as summarised by Jackson (2005), it has also been suggested that Mn may have originated from the sands used at the time; from recycling; or from the use of glassmaker's soap.…”

“…The combined presence of Fe 3þ and S 2À , which can occur in silicate melts prepared under strongly reducing conditions ( pO 2 < w10 À6 bar) (Beerkens and Kahl, 2002;DiBello, 1989) gives rise to an intense and characteristic ''amber'' colouration (Beerkens and Kahl, 2002;DiBello, 1989;Schreurs and Brill, 1984;Green and Hart, 1987;Douglas and Zaman, 1969). This amber colour is the result of increased UV absorption which shifts the UV edge to longer wavelengths, and to the development of a new absorption band centred at w410 nm, which has been attributed to tetrahedrally-coordinated Fe 3þ ions surrounded by three O 2À ions and one S 2À ion (Schreiber et al, 1990).…”

Glass Making in the Greco-Roman World: Results of the ARCHGLASS project

“…By adding different metals in varying concentrations and under different furnace conditions, a whole range of different colours could be achieved. Details on the effects of these different elements on the colour of glass are beyond the scope of this study and can be found in Weyl (1951), Bamford (1977), Green and Hart (1987), and Pollard and Heron (2008).…”

Optical spectroscopy as a rapid and low-cost tool for the first-line analysis of glass artefacts: a step-by-step plan for Roman green glass

“…Although the potential of optical spectroscopy as an archaeometric technique has been demonstrated along with some of the benefits e.g., no sample preparation needed (Green and Hart, 1987), any real breakthrough is still to come. Several reasons can be put forward out of which the most important one is probably the absence of any form of generalized methodology.…”

“…In later research, a similar approach was followed by several others to study different sets of materials. More specifically, optical spectroscopy was applied in studies on Roman glass from Colchester and on post-medieval glass from Surrey (Green and Hart, 1987), on late Roman Palestine glass from Jalame (Brill, 1988), on 7th century glass fragments of the Crypta Balbi in Rome (Mirti et al, 2000) and, more recently, on Parthian and Sasanian dated glass artefacts coming from excavation sites in modern Iraq (Mirti et al, 2008), on 1st and 2nd century glass from Coppergate, York (Bingham and Jackson, 2008) and on 5th and 7th century window glass fragments from the Petra Church in Jordan (Schibille et al, 2008).…”