Die schwarzen Perlen in Osteria dell’Osa (Rom, Italien)

Ein Beitrag zu den ersten Glasperlen der frühen Eisenzeit in Latium

Abstract

This paper is the first since the “Marburger Studien” were published in the 1980s and 1990s to present glass beads from the very Early Iron Age in central Italy. While the Early Iron Age glass beads have not been studied to any satisfactory degree so far, chemical analyses are now being carried out more often. The paper presents seemingly black glass beads, with measurements and coloured photographs, from six burials discovered at the Latial IIB phase cemetery at Osteria dell’Osa, showing that the typological sequence
proposed in the original publication must be revised. The selection of beads, which dates from the 9^th century BC, is used to propose a preliminary classification of seemingly black beads. Because defining ‘types’ would require in-depth knowledge of the type of  glass and therefore necessitate a detailed study of a broad range of material and an analysis of its chemical and physical properties, the system of classification chosen here has been limited to ‘classes’ and ‘groups’. The groups were defined on the basis of formal aspects such as shape, size and type of decoration. Eight groups in total were thus identified, some of which were further divided into sub-groups based on their size or decoration type. At Osteria dell’Osa, glass beads were found exclusively in burials of female individuals, and an  analysis of the grave contexts suggested that there was a link between the kind of bead in the grave and the age at death of the  deceased. Since the beads were worn visibly and as part of jewellery sets which included brooches, in other words as part of the traditional dress, we can assume that black glass beads, and beads in general, had some sort of social significance.
Known as ‘soda-lime glass’, the black glass products from the Early Iron Age represent a change in composition from the Late Bronze Age so-called ‘mixed alkali’ glass objects, which were usually blue or turquoise in colour. Chemical analyses were mainly carried out
on related black beads from Campania in southern Italy and a small number of other sites. The paper presents the state of research with regard to chemical analyses and the problems associated with them, as well as the processes that resulted in the colour of the glass, which were by no means the same in all cases, though they usually involved a high iron oxide content. Interestingly, there is a considerable chemical and technological variety among Early Iron Age glass objects on the one hand and a rather limited level of knowledge regarding raw glass production, manufacturing techniques and processing sites on the other. Possible scenarios include either the importation of raw glass and finished beads or a local production. The idea that such objects were produced in Italy is discussed and ultimately cannot be excluded. There is, in fact, archaeological evidence attesting to Late Bronze Age production of glass beads in the Veneto region. However, a lot of fundamental research has yet to be carried out before we can assess the situation with regard to the possible continuity – or otherwise – of glass production on Italic soil at the beginning of the first millennium BC, which will necessarily involve publishing such glass objects and making supraregional comparisons between the different areas both within Italy and beyond.

Digital supplement: https://doi.org/10.11588/data/WJQVY5