Optical characterization and analysis of archaeological glass artefacts

Abstract

The chemical composition of ancient glass offers a great quantity of information to archaeologists, but the present chemical analysis techniques appear to have many disadvantages. In this thesis, we applied optical spectroscopy to the study of the chemical composition of ancient glass. We dealt with the identification of the colouring agents and the impurities affecting the colour of the glass. The study of the glass transmission spectral shape was focused on the identification of the characteristic absorption bands and the calculation of the colour coordinates. We detected the presence of those substances and also provided additional information about ancient glass production process. After demonstrating that optical spectroscopy is an alternative valid technique, we built an equipment to perform the measurements adapted to the archaeologists’ requirements. Cost, size and easy operability were some of the factors taken into account in the development of the system.