Damage Assessment and Chemical Charecterization of Glass Objects Excavated from Gadara, Northern Jordan

Abstract

During the excavation works carried out by the Department of Antiquities, at the archaeological site of Umm Qais/Gadara, Northern Jordan, from January 6 to February 19, 2009, a considerable collection of glass objects of different typologies and colors were uncovered in a Roman cemetery. These glasses were characterized chemically by using X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (XRF) and examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results indicated that these glasses are of soda-lime-silica type and correspond to the previously defined Levantine I glass group, and dated back to the Roman period (1st-4th Century AD). Furthermore, SEM investigation revealed that those glasses are completely corroded, and subjected to intensive deterioration. Therefore the preservation of those deteriorated glasses was important because of their archaeological and technological interests.