Changes in glass consumption in Pergamon (Turkey) from Hellenistic to late Byzantine and Islamic times

A major shift in glass supply and economic fragmentation is evident in Pergamon, Turkey, from the mid-to-late Byzantine and Islamic periods. Analysis of nearly 100 glass samples spanning 1500 years reveals that two previously little-known boron- and alumina-rich compositional groups emerged around the first half of the 1st millennium AD, dominating local glass compositions by the mid-Byzantine period. This indicates a transition from imported Roman glass to regionally produced alternatives, signaling a fragmentation of the economy into more localized units. Plant-ash glass, which replaced mineral natron glass in the Levant during the 9th century AD, played only a minor role in Pergamon's glass consumption. The study employed compositional data analysis to track these changes without detecting any link between the introduction of glass-blowing techniques and alterations in glass group compositions.

Rehren, Th., Connolly, P., Schibille, N., & Schwarzer, H. (2015). Changes in glass consumption in Pergamon (Turkey) from Hellenistic to late Byzantine and Islamic times. Journal of Archaeological Science, 55, 266–279. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2014.12.025