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Author |
Cagno, S.; Cosyns, P.; Ceglia, A.; Nys, K.; Janssens, K. |
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Title |
The use of vitrum obsianum in the Roman Empire: some new insights and future prospects |
Type |
A1 Journal article |
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Year  |
2015 |
Publication |
Periodico di mineralogia |
Abbreviated Journal |
Period Mineral |
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Volume |
84 |
Issue |
3a |
Pages |
465-482 |
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Keywords |
A1 Journal article; AXES (Antwerp X-ray Analysis, Electrochemistry and Speciation) |
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Abstract |
The research on the use of obsidian in the Mediterranean is extensive but concerns almost exclusively volcanic glass from prehistoric and Bronze Age contexts. The consumption of obsidian during the Roman imperial period, however, has only occasionally received attention. Never a comprehensive account on what the Romans made in vitrum obsianum has been set up, nor have the sources exploited by them been examined. This paper provides a concise overview of the current knowledge on obsidian during the Roman imperial period and offers an introductory outline on potential research. The ancient writers inform us about the use of volcanic glass to create exclusive vessels, gemstones, mirrors and sculpture, but also about the creation of black appearing man-made glass initiated as a cheap and easier workable substitute of obsidian. The archaeological data on the other hand propose a more complex story with the occurrence of obsidian chunks in early Roman secondary glass workshops, and the bulky use of obsidian in late Antiquity to produce tesserae for the creation of wall and vault mosaics. Because it is extremely difficult to visually distinguish natural obsidian from man-made glass imitations we present in this paper data collected by means of non-destructive chemico-physical analyses SEM-EDX, portable X-ray fluorescence (p-XRF) and Raman spectroscopy to easily distinguish man-made glass from natural obsidian. In particular the use of portable instruments makes possible in situ analysis of objects in archaeological depots or museum collections to help defining distribution networks to better understand the shifting consumption patterns in Antiquity. |
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000365632500007 |
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ISSN |
0369-8963 |
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Additional Links |
UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles |
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Impact Factor |
0.883 |
Times cited |
2 |
Open Access |
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Notes |
; Our sincere gratitude goes to Cecile Evers and Natacha Masar to have granted permission for studying and analysing various obsidian artefacts within the collections of the Royal Museums of Art and History, Brussels (Belgium). We are also very grateful to Roald Doctor, Daniele Foy and Laudine Robin, respectively for having provided the material from Carthage, for the Sidi Jdidi tessera and Lyon. Our appreciation also goes to Ian Freestone and Andrew Meek respectively for having worked out and provided the internal report on the horse foreleg in the British Museum. Finally we wish to thank Jennifer Price, Maria Grazia Diani respectively for the information on the Stanwick fragment and the piece in the Pogliaghi-Varesse collection. This research was supported by the Hercules Foundation (Brussels) with the grant AUHA09004 and FWO (Brussels, Belgium) projects no. G.0C12.13 and G.01769.09 and partly by the Research Council of Norway through its Centres of Excellence funding scheme, project number 223268/ F50. ; |
Approved |
Most recent IF: 0.883; 2015 IF: 0.464 |
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Call Number |
UA @ admin @ c:irua:130244 |
Serial |
5876 |
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