Glass beads and pendants from Meroitic and Nobadian Lower Nubia, Sudan: Chemical compositional analysis using laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry

This paper presents a detailed elemental analysis of 64 glass beads and pendants dated to the Meroitic period (first–third centuries AD) and the Nobadian period (fourth–sixth centuries) from burial sites in the Lower Nubian Nile Valley region. Laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) was used to determine the chemical composition of the glass and to gain knowledge about its origin. Four main glass types were identified: low-alumina soda-lime glass, high-alumina glass, plant-ash soda-lime glass, and mixedalkali glass. Mineral soda-lime glass (m-Na-Ca) of East Mediterranean/Egyptian provenance is dominant within the low-alumina glass group from Meroitic and Nobadian periods. Mineral soda high-alumina glass (m-Na-Al) appeared in the Nobadian bead assemblages, and the m- Na-Al 1 subtype was produced in Sri Lanka/South India. An initial insight into the origin of the glass beads in Nubia from the first to sixth centuries is described, indicating the first evidence for the presence of Asian objects in Nubia. The data obtained for the bead trade in North-east Africa in this study has allowed a new light to be shed on the westward flow of Asian glass during a time of intensive maritime trade contacts with the wider Indian Ocean world.