Glass at the Periphery of the Roman Empire: Chemical Data on Isings 111 Goblets from the Western Shore of Pontus Euxinus

This paper examines Isings 111 form, a type of glass vessel widely encountered during the Late Antique period, discussing its occurrence at several archaeological sites from the former Roman province of Scythia, delimited by the Danube River (Danubius) and the Black Sea (Pontus Euxinus). After a comprehensive presentation of this glass form, new chemical data obtained by PIXE-PIGE analysis are reported for 62 glass fragments of Isings 111 forms recovered during the excavations at three archaeological sites—Histria, Tomis, and Beroe—in present-day Romania, corresponding to settlements of various size and importance within ancient Scythia. The glass finds were broadly dated to the Late Antique period (4th–6th c. AD); most of them were attributed to the 6th c. AD. The samples were prevalently made of naturally coloured glass, displaying various hues of green, blue or olive. Chemical data indicate that the majority of Isings 111 fragments were made of Foy Série 2.1 glass, in agreement with the prevalence of this chemical type of glass during the Late Antique period. Chemical data on four goblets from Histria hint at the presence of halophytic plant ash alongside natron, a compositional pattern rarely but consistently encountered within this geographical and chronological frame.