The first archaeometric data on polychrome Iron Age glass from sites located in northern Italy

A large sample set of transparent and opaque glass artefacts recovered from Etruscan contexts innorthern Italy (Bologna and Spina (FE) necropoleis) and dated to a period between the 6th and 4thcentury BC are analysed in this paper. Samples of highly decorated beads, spindle whorls and vessels ofthe ‘Mediterranean Group I’ (Alabastron, Oinochoes, Amphoriskos) were selected in order to determinewhether these different glass artefacts were produced at the same manufacturing site. While the vesselsalmost certainly originate from Greece, the beads could derive from a more ancient local productionascertained at the site of Frattesina (Rovigo, Italy) and dated to the Bronze Age.The aims of this study are: (i) to characterise a set of Iron Age glass artefacts, thus providing newquantitative chemical data; and (ii) to identify possible differences between finds recovered fromdifferent localities and between glass vessels and beads, in order to establish whether different manufactureswere active contemporaneously.The chemical analyses of major and minor elements were performed with an electron microprobe. Thenature of the opacifying and colouring agents was determined by X-ray diffraction. The sample set isrelatively homogeneous and most of the samples can be classified as low magnesium glass. The yellowopaque decorations are rich in Pb and Sb, while only Sb is present in the white and light blue samples.The XRD analyses confirmed the presence of lead antimonates in the yellow decorations and of calciumantimonates in the white and light blue decorations.