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This paper discusses the composition of the vessel and window glass from three Late Antique Cypriot sites: Yeroskipou, Maroni-Petrera and Kalavasos-Kopetra. Over 170 glass fragments were sampled for quantitative chemical analysis through EPMA measurements. The aim of this work is to establish new insights on the chemical compositions of the glass from Late Antique Cypriot sites to observe the distribution of glass on the island. Furthermore, we compare our dataset with published data of contemporary materials from other regions. Four compositional groups were recognized and correlated to known chemical compositions: Levantine 1, Egypt 1, two types of HIMT glass, HIMTa and HIMTb, while a new group, High Lime Iron Manganese Titanium (HLIMT) has been defined. Glass was supplied to Cypriot glassmakers by both Egyptian and Syro-Palestinian primary producers. Nevertheless, we have observed a specific distribution pattern on the island. In the west, there is about 50:50 ratio between Levantine and Egyptian suppliers. On the contrary, in the central south coast the amount of Egyptian glass drops consistently, in particular in Kalavasos, leaving space to Levantine glass. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In this paper we explore the major, minor and some trace elements of sixty-five glass beads from eighteen oasis sites both north and south of the Taklamakan Desert, the ancient centre of the Silk Routes linking East and West; the samples date from the Warring States period (475–2211 BCE) to the Tang Dynasty (618–907 CE). Using a high-resolution portable XRF spectrometer, with special attention to issues of surface weathering and sample preparation, we obtained quantitative chemical compositional data that, when combined with archaeological context and the technology of bead manufacture, provide the basis for an understanding of both changes in glass type over time, and possible source areas for the Xinjiang glasses. While glass beads at the early sites (1st c. BCE to 4th c. CE) were coming primarily from Kushan-controlled territories in northern India, Pakistan and Afghanistan, with a small contribution from central China, most of the later glass (4th–10th c. CE) is similar to that produced in the Sasanian Empire at such sites as Veh Ardashir in central Iraq. These changes most likely reflect changing cultural and economic conditions in the Silk Road towns. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]