Sasanian copper and billon coins from the collections of the Royal Museums of Art and History, Brussels, Belgium-insights using semi-quantitative analysis by mu XRF

This paper presents the micro-XRF analysis of over 100 Sasanian billon and copper coins from the collections of the Royal Museums of Art and History in Brussels, Belgium. This study discovered that some coins, thought to be copper, were actually billon coins. Furthermore, it illustrated the continuity in use and recipe of small copper coins from the Parthian into the Sasanian period. Previous research into the elemental composition of copper coins from the Sasanian period only spanned the period 224-309 CE, while this paper encompasses the whole period until the fall of the empire in 651 CE. The link with lead coins is also discussed.Material Culture Studie

Ceramic production in the Kur River Basin (Fars, Iran) during the middle to late second millennium bce: a geochemical and technological characterization.

A total of 119 middle to late second millennium bce pottery samples from six sites in the Kur River Basin (Fars, Iran) were examined to characterize these ceramics and reconstruct their manufacturing technology and the origin of the primary materials. For this, a combined study of handheld XRF and thin‐section petrography was performed. The geochemical signatures of these ceramics were defined and interpreted in their archaeological and geological framework, resulting in the determination of different production processes and clay types used for four ceramic wares (Middle Elamite, Qaleh, Shogha and Taimuran) and the identification of possible outcrops used for Shogha–Taimuran production

Glass and glass production in the Oman peninsula in antiquity reconsidered - chemical and mineralogical investigation of sands

A batch of green- and amber-coloured glass chunks and unguentaria dating from the first century CE was found in 2007 at Dibba al Hisn, a site on the Arabian Sea coast of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Its elemental and isotopic composition revealed the glass to be of a previously unknown plant ash glass type, different from known contemporary Roman, Mesopotamian, and Indian glass. The Sr isotopic composition of the glass corresponds to locally available plants, pointing to the possible existence of a first-century CE local glass production centre. To explore this possibility, sands from around the UAE were analysed to establish their suitability for glass making and correspondence with the Dibba finds. This paper presents the results of the elemental analysis of fourteen sands. The analysis, performed using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES), revealed all sands to be rich in lime and alumina. X-ray diffraction revealed the presence of calcite and other carbonate minerals, as well as antigorite and quartz. Comparison of the sand compositions to average first-century CE non-Roman glass found at Dibba showed them to be unsuitable as raw material for producing the glass of Dibba. The evidence thus identifies this glass batch as imported, contrary to what was suggested before. This paper also reviews the occurrence of thick-walled unguentaria in the region.Material Culture Studie

The archaeometallurgy of War Kabud, Western Iran

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Sasanian copper and billon coins from the collections of the Royal Museums of Art and History, Brussels, Belgium-insights using semi-quantitative analysis by mu XRF

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