Geochemical investigation of Late Roman glass and available raw material at the industrial complex of Tel Yavne, Israel

Abstract

A Late Roman primary-glass production site was discovered near Tel Yavne, Israel, within a large Late Roman-Byzantine industrial complex. Due to its location near several sandy quartz-rich deposits, the site offers a unique opportunity to simultaneously investigate natron glass production and raw material sourcing in the southern Levant. The glass and the nearby sand deposits were investigated using grain-size, mineralogy, detailed chemical composition and stable carbon isotopes. The results indicate a distinct compositional group of the Yavne glass, which is different compared with previously studied sites of primary natron glass production. The studied sandy deposits are overall characterized by a similar chemical composition, and could have been used for natron glass production on site, where slightly better compositional similarity is found between the glass and the nearby dunes. Nevertheless, the Yavne glass is characterized by increased calcium, aluminum and potassium content that could either point at local contamination, the usage of another sand source, or an addition of some potassium- and aluminum-rich additive such as the clay-rich soils of the nearby Soreq floodplain.

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