Archaeometric characaterization of glass finds recovered from Hasankeyf Büyük Saray excavations (2017)

Archaeometry, which includes chemical, mineralogical, physical and microscopic examinations of the finds found in archaeological excavations, provides important information regarding the material production technologies of the past civilizations. Such studies make important contributions to the literature regarding the production characteristics of many finds belonging to the same or similar period. In this context, it is known that Archaeometry offers a wide range of examination and research opportunities on glass. From this point of view, in the present thesis, an archaeometric examination of the amorphous glass finds (thought to belong to the Islamic period) unearthed in Hasankeyf Büyük Saray (Grand Palace) archaeological excavations (2017) was carried out. For this purpose, portable X-ray fluorescence (p-XRF), polarized energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence (PED-XRF) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM)/energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDX) methods were preferred for the glass samples. It is aimed to determine the major, minor and trace elements with portable XRF and PED-XRF, and to reveal the micro structural and micro chemical properties with SEM-EDX. According to the data obtained, it was determined that the glasses were mainly produced from raw materials containing Na2O, K2O, CaO, MgO, SiO2 and Al2O3. In the hierarchical clustering analysis made by considering the oxide contents, it is determined that the glasses are divided into two main groups and each of them has subgroups. It was observed that the samples of HC-9b and HC-10b were completely differentiated from the others in both the hierarchical clustering analysis and the triple diagram analysis, therefore, it was anticipated that these samples would not belong to local production, or different raw material sources may have been used in their production. When the trace elements in the glasses were examined, it was determined that especially Cu, Co, Mn, Fe and Pb elements would have been effective in the formation of the colors. The chemical composition distributions of the glasses indicated that there were at least two alternatives in terms of the raw materials and the samples were mostly soda-lime-silica glass. Considering the Sr and Zr contents in the samples, it has been determined that the glasses are mostly produced from marine+terrestrial or marine origin raw materials, and some glasses in fewer numbers contain only terrestrial raw materials. The relatively high potassium content in a few samples indicated that such samples may contain vegetal supplements as a source of potash (plant ashes, etc.). The high mean values of SiO2 ratio (63.48 % wt.) and low mean of K2O ratio ( 2.36% wt.) seen in PED-XRF data indicated that most of the glasses in the sample set had high atmospheric corrosion resistance, high chemical stability, and therefore high glass quality in general. Considering the lead, copper and antimony contents, it can be assumed that recycling glasses may have been used in some samples.