M. Járó - L. Költő szerk.: Archaeometrical research in Hungary (Budapest, 1988)
Analysis - ZIMMER Károly: Spectrochemical investigation and classification of Hungarian glass finds
ZIMMER Károly* SPECTROCHEMICAL INVESTIGATION AND CLASSIFICATION OF HUNGARIAN GLASS FINDS Abstract — The paper deals with the systematic investigation of glass bead fragments found in graves in the Budapest area dated to the early age of the Great Migrations and the mediaeval glass fragments of the Kings Palace of Buda Castle. Spectrographs analysis of glass necklaces was carried out in order to draw conclusions from the composition of the samples of different colour on the c&louring component of the finds. Th» fragments were divided into eight colour classes. The determination of the main, major and"minor components, the pigment materials, accompanying and trace elements have been carried out by means of colorimetry , X-ray fluorescence and d. c. arc AES methods as well as ICP-AES (inductively coupled plasmaatomic emission spectrometry) and glow discharge source. The concentration distribution of elements on the surface and in the bulk of glasses was investigated by electron probe microanalysis, in order to draw conclusions on inhomogeneity and interactions with the components of sou in the environment. For the determination of connections between the quality of artificial products and analytical data, i. e. for classification of archaeological glass finds MVDA multivariate variance and discriminant analyis) was applied. Introduction The spectrochemical investigation of glass finds arising from the area of historical Hungary is part of the research work carried out in the Institute of Inorganic and Analytical Chemistry of Eötvös Loránd University during the last 25 years. This research aims at the complex investigation of archaeological finds of various origin and material. The research includes the development of spectrochemical methods, the application of different spectrochemical methods as well as the classification of the samples studied in order to be able to draw conclusions of archaeological value from the statistical analysis of the data obtained. The investigations reported here aimed primarily at glass bead fragments found in graves in the Budapest area dated to the early age of the Great Migrations and at the mediaeval glass fragments of Buda Castle. Investigation of glass bead fragments Upon the request of the Historical Museum of Budapest, the spectrographic analysis of glass necklace fragments was carried out in order to draw conclusions from the composition of the samples of different colour on the colouring component of the finds [1]. The necklace fragments were found in 4 different graves of the Péceli út cemetery in Budapest. The necklaces had so far not been investigated in detail, and their material was believed to be coloured ceramics. The first, exploratory X-ray diffraction analyses have shown, however, that the substance is, in fact, not ceramics but coloured, mat glass. The fragments placed at our disposal were divided into eight colour classes: white, violet, claret, brick-red, blue, green, brown and black. On the basis of quahtative-spectrographic analysis, the probably relevant elements were assigned to all colour classes. The conclusion has been drawn that the elements responsible for the colour are: Cu, Pb, Mn, Fe, Sn and * Institute of Inorganic and Analytical Chemistry, Eötvös Loránd University H1088 Budapest, Múzeum körút 4/B.
