Radiogenic Isotopes and the Provenance of Glass

Roman and later period may have been very limited, and confined to places in the Near East where there is a good supply of natron and suitable sand (Freestone et al., 2008). In the absence of any archaeological evidence, however, the actual locations of any major sites of Roman glass making remain unknown - a fact which, given the ubiquity of glass in the Roman empire, is little short of astonishing. 

Sample Colour Century Nd ppm 143Ndj144Nd Error ENd 87Sr/86Sr Error 

Nevertheless, this work shows that the previously intractable question of glass provenance is now amenable to archaeological investigation. 

(1968). The chemical durability of silicate glass Part One. Glass Industry 49 438-446. 

Bamford, C.R. (1977). Colour Generation and Control in Glass. Glass Science and Technology 2, Elsevier, Amsterdam. 

---