A group of finds (vessels, raw glass chunks, window panes) from three sites in present-day Bulgaria was selected as representative of the circulation and usage of glass in the Lower Danube region during the 6th c. AD. In total, 79 samples were analysed by EPMA and/or LA-ICP-MS techniques. The data quality was assessed for each analytical run according to the measurement of reference glasses and to pairs of results obtained from representative samples of archaeological glass analysed by both techniques. Combining EPMA and LA-ICP-MS data allowed a sufficiently consistent and unified set of primary results to be formed. As already suggested in an earlier preliminary paper, only a single glass composition was found to dominate the 6th c. contexts in the region. The current study recognises this 6th c. glass from the Lower Danube as identical with the so called ‘Serie 2.1.’ defined by D. Foy and co-workers (2003) in various assemblages in Southern France and North Africa. The major, minor and trace oxide evidence presented here indicates that this is a distinct primary glass composition, with an iron-rich sub-group tentatively differentiated within the main group. Accordingly, an attempt is made to situate it relative to the other main primary compositions in the region. The proposed interpretation is that the 6th c. glass should not be linked to the HIMT glass despite the nominal similarity between them due to their elevated iron oxide, manganese, and titania concentrations. Instead, a possible link between the geochemical characteristics of the 6th c. glass and an earlier group of manganese decolourised glass, equivalent to ‘Serie 3.2.’ outlined by D. Foy and coworkers (2003) is suggested. This may imply the use of sand from a broadly identical geological area, hence it is possible that both the 6th c. glass and the manganese decolourised composition are likely to share a common origin.

A group of finds (vessels, rawglass chunks,windowpanes) fromthree sites in present-day Bulgaria was selected as representative of the circulation and usage of glass in the LowerDanube region during the 6th c. AD. In total, 79 sampleswere analysed by EPMA and/or LA-ICP-MS techniques. The data quality was assessed for each analytical run according to themeasurement of reference glasses and to pairs of results obtained fromrepresentative samples of archaeological glass analysed by both techniques. Combining EPMA and LA-ICP-MS data allowed a sufficiently consistent and unified set of primary results to be formed. As already suggested in an earlier preliminary paper, only a single glass compositionwas found to dominate the 6th c. contexts in the region. The current study recognises this 6th c. glass fromthe Lower Danube as identicalwith the so called ‘Serie 2.1.’ defined by D. Foy and co-workers (2003) in various assemblages in Southern France andNorth Africa. The major, minor and trace oxide evidence presented here indicates that this is a distinct primary glass composition, with an iron-rich sub-group tentatively differentiated within the main group. Accordingly, an attempt is made to situate it relative to the other main primary compositions in the region. The proposed interpretation is that the 6th c. glass should not be linked to the HIMT glass despite the nominal similarity between them due to their elevated iron oxide, manganese, and titania concentrations. Instead, a possible link between the geochemical characteristics of the 6th c. glass and an earlier group of manganese decolourised glass, equivalent to ‘Serie 3.2.’ outlined by D. Foy and coworkers (2003) is suggested. This may imply the use of sand from a broadly identical geological area, hence it is possible that both the 6th c. glass and the manganese decolourised composition are likely to share a common origin.

The analytical study of Late Antique glass vessel assemblages from present- day Bulgaria identifi ed a distinct compositional group, primarily dated to the fi fth century ce. It is characterised by manganese decolouration and virtually absent antimony, and is recognised here as s é rie 3.2 of Foy et al. ( 2003 ). We discuss this specifi c glass group and its distribution as attested with materials found in contexts from the late fourth century ce through to the early sixth century ce, from the western Mediterranean, Italy and several sites in the Balkans, among others. These comparisons provide evidence about the overall chronology of s é rie 3.2 and suggest that its wide spatial circulation had various patterns and was governed by various socio- economic mechanisms, from an inter- regional through to various regional and local levels. We discuss the relationship of this predominantly fi fth- century ce glass group with the later s é rie 2.1 of Foy et al. ( 2003 ), which gradually replaces the earlier glass group, possibly starting around the turn of the sixth century ce. We highlight specifi c diff erences in production technology of the two groups at the level of primary production while also emphasising the signifi cance of reuse and recycling as another instance of spread of glass compositions.

The Eastern Roman Empire underwent gradual social and economic changes throughout the fourth to sixth centuries, with societies retaining varying elements of continuity. This had a feedback effect on commodities, such as glassware. The aim of this research was to supplement the study of early Byzantine glass compositions, generating a broader compositional database for fifth and sixth century materials within the Balkans. The fortress at Dichin, Bulgaria, was chosen due to it’s large assemblage of glass from securely stratified contexts. Results show that the fortress was receiving varying qualities of all the main contemporary glass fabrics (HIMT, Levantine, and HIT) in a variety of vessel forms. These were likely supplied from a range of sites across the early Byzantine world via inter-connected river trade networks to the core Byzantine marketplace. Glass fabrics were evenly distributed across the site, apart from HIT which was focused within contexts associated with storing goods. The HIMT 1 and HIT glasses were identified as being more specialized in colour and form than the other fabrics. Evidence of secondary production workshops being supplied by multiple primary production workshops is present in the form of vessels with applied rims made from a combination of multiple glass fabrics, and visual banding of HIMT 1 and HIT throughout a vessel (sample 71), the latter suggesting a blending process had occurred.

"The assemblage of early Byzantine glass from Dichin spans different glass vessel types, used and discarded during the 5th –6th centuries AD. Local glass working of imported pre-fused glass chunks is indicated by the presence of typical glass waste, in common with observations at other Late Roman to Byzantine towns elsewhere. Macroscopic assessment identified several different archaeological categories of glass, separated by quality, technique and colour; two of these categories were confirmed and further sub-divided into three compositional groups following electron probe micro analysis. A comparison of the analytical data with published compositions of late Roman and Byzantine glasses from elsewhere showed that all analysed Dichin glasses within this assemblage falls into or close to the HIMT glasses, but also extending the range of reported compositions for this North African glass group to more extreme values than previously known. "

Chemical aspects of Byzantine glass from Caricˇin Grad/Iustiniana prima (Serbia) The article deals with the initial results of a research project into the Byzantine glass from Caričin Grad, which started in 2006 as a co-operation between the Archaeological Institute of Belgrade and the Römisch-Germanisches Zentralmuseum in Mainz. The glass finds of Caričin Grad are not only very numerous, but they also represent a great variety of different vessels, windowpanes, tesserae and residues of glass-working activities. The aim is to analyse the material within the context of glass-production and distribution within the Mediterranean world of the 6th and 7th century by relying mainly on analyses of the chemical composition of the samples. An initial typological classification of the nearly 350 fragments is presented here, as well as first results of the analysis of the chemical composition of the 26 raw glass fragments which, with the exception of two samples with comparably high potassium and magnesium contents, were revealed to be of a soda-lime composition that is similar but not identical to traditional Roman glass formulations.

A research project conducted by the Archaeological Institute of Belgrade and the Roman-Germanic Central Museum in Mainz addresses the Byzantine glass from Caričin Grad (a municipality of Lebane, in the Jablanica area, SRB) that can be identified with Iustiniana Prima, a city founded by Emperor Justinian I that existed approximately between the 530s and approximately 615 AD. A short overview of the material from Caričin Grad and a broader discussion of the context of glass fragments from other sites south of the Danube are given. Additionally the first results of the chemical analyses are presented. The raw glass is related in composition to other Early Mediaeval natron glasses such as that found in Anglo-Saxon graves. A few samples, however, show characteristics of plant ash glasses.

During the 2011 archaeological excavations at the Mali Grad site in Braničevo, a set of at least 16 vessels made of translucent dark-purple glass and decorated with marvered opaque white trails was discovered. This unique glass assemblage,consisting of at least eight bowls, three bottles, two cylindrical flasks and three further vessels which can be possibly attributed to flasks, was found in the most significant archaeological context in the urban centre of Braničevo, in the layer above the floor in House No 4. According to other archaeological finds from the same context, coins in particular, the glass vessel set is dated to the 12th century. Importantly, the finds from Braničevo are so far the earliest securely-dated vessels of this type in the territoryof the Byzantine Empire, post-dating the reestablishment of its control over the Balkan Peninsula in the 11th century