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The early Islamic glass from Sir Bani Yas, UAE

Phelps, M; Simpson, SJ; Freestone, I; (2018) The early Islamic glass from Sir Bani Yas, UAE. In: Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies - 2018. Archaeopress: London, UK. (In press). Green open access

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Abstract

Detailed studies of the pottery and stuccoes of the church and associated complex at Sir Bani Yas indicate these date to the seventh and eighth centuries. This paper examines the only other significant set of finds, namely the glassware. Several other churches and monasteries have been excavated in the Persian Gulf and Western Desert of Iraq but this is the first occasion where the glass assemblage has been studied in detail and has included comprehensive scientific analysis of the glass compositions. Analysis by electron probe microanalysis of 85 samples has identified four compositional groups. The largest is relatively high in lime and alumina, and could not be related to previously analysed groups. Two groups were compositionally similar to Mesopotamian glass of the Sasanian and early Islamic periods, corresponding to Mesopotamian Types 1 and 2 of Phelps (2016) and suggest trade in glass from Mesopotamia to Sir Bani Yas. A final group is small and shares similarity to three contemporary samples from Kush. The sparse use of MnO as a decolourant in the glass as opposed to its ubiquitous use in 9th century Abbasid glass suggests an Early Islamic seventheighth century date for this assemblage, consistent with the ceramic dating.

Type: Proceedings paper
Title: The early Islamic glass from Sir Bani Yas, UAE
Event: Seminar for Arabian Studies - 2018
Location: London, UK
Dates: 04 August 2017 - 06 August 2017
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
Publisher version: https://www.thebfsa.org/publications/proceedings-o...
Language: English
Additional information: This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions.
Keywords: Sir Bani Yas, electron microprobe analysis, glass, early Islamic, church
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH > Faculty of S&HS
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH > Faculty of S&HS > Institute of Archaeology
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH > Faculty of S&HS > Institute of Archaeology > Institute of Archaeology Gordon Square
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10052384
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