Barroso-Solares, S.; Schade, U.; Puskar, L.; Rodriguez-Gutierrez, E.; Prieto, A. C.; Sanz-Minguez, C.; Pinto, J.: Addressing the Preservation State and Weathering Products of an Ancient Glass Bead Collection (IV-I c. BC) by Micro-FTIR Spectroscopy. Heritage Science 9 (2026), p. 94/1-17
10.3390/heritage9030094
Open Accesn Version
Abstract:
Archeological glass has attracted significant attention in recent years. Its archaeometric study has proven to provide remarkable insights into technological development and relationships among ancient cultures. Thus, ancient glass remains have been recovered from oblivion, and their preservation has become a priority. An extraordinarily well-contextualized collection of ancient glass beads, comprising over 1200 pieces, has been recovered from the archeological site of Pintia (Padilla de Duero, Valladolid, Spain). A large fraction of this collection appears to be well preserved. However, recent detailed studies on its most relevant piece, a Phoenician glass pendant, evidenced the presence of carbonatation processes. Accordingly, an extensive analysis of the preservation state of this collection was required to safeguard it for future generations. Thus, 64 representative samples from this collection, including diverse chronologies, morphologies, and colors, were analyzed by micro-FTIR spectroscopy at the IRIS beamline of the BESSY-II synchrotron (Berlin, Germany), yielding ATR and reflectance spectra. This work, the first micro-FTIR spectroscopy study of a large set of pre-Roman glass beads, provided evidence about the preservation of the glass structure of these pieces, as well as about the presence of crystalline weathering products.