Een archeometrische studie van bodem en glas uit het hoogmiddeleeuwse kasteel van Cucagna, Noord-Italië. Interdisciplinaire interpretaties met betrekking tot glastechnologie, geochemie van de omliggende bodem, behoud van cultureel erfgoed en cultuurg

This research is based on archaeological glass with corresponding soil samples, excavated on the site of the high medieval castle Cucagna in Friuli/Northern Italy. The glass fragments can be dated between the 13th and the 15th century AD. The core hypothesis of this work is that the glass used at Cucagna Castle were brought in from the Northern Italian glass factories under Venetian patronage, as the impressive glass qualities displayed presumably only existed in Venice at that time. To collect the necessary information on the glass' composition, electron optical scans and microprobe analysis are conducted on representative samples that are typologically interesting. Three research goals are put forward: To present a comprehensible system based on scientific analysis to classify the preservation grade of archaeological glass finds; To contribute to the current discourse on glass corrosion in soil, by comparing the elemental composition of the glass to chemical and physical analyses of the corresponding soil (e.g. by LC/MS, XRD, pH measurement); To interpret the results of the elemental analysis of the glass in the context of the cultural history of Northern Italy and the development of glass technology during that time. For that reason, one key aspect is the attempt to localize the place of glass production, also in the context of similar glass finds at the numerous castles with German roots at the southern mountain side of the Alps.