Analysis of Medieval and Post-Medieval Glass Fragments from the Dubrovnik Region (Croatia)

• Published in: Archaeometry Vol. 58; no. 4; pp. 574 - 592
• Main Authors: Topic, N, Bogdanovic Radovic, I, Fazinic, S, Skoko
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.08.2016; Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
• Subjects: Dubrovnik Region; Medieval Glass; PIGE; PIXE; Post-Medieval Glass
• ISSN: 0003-813X; 1475-4754
• DOI: 10.1111/arcm.12191

Dubrovnik was an important trade city throughout the medieval and post‐medieval time period, maintaining its own glass production from the 14th to the 16th century. Unfortunately, Dubrovnik glass discoveries have not been well investigated up until now, except via archival data in large data analyses. In the following work, we will shed new light on the glass material found in this region, which has diverse origins, chronology, typology and style. Medieval and post‐medieval glass finds (10th/12th–18th centuries) discovered during archaeological excavations in Dubrovnik and the Dubrovnik region were analysed using particle‐induced X‐ray emission (PIXE) and particle‐induced gamma‐ray emission (PIGE), which revealed three main compositional groups: natron glass, plant‐ash glass and potash glass. This demonstrates the important commercial links present between Dubrovnik and other major glass‐making centres.