Fig. 9: Chronological shift in Al2O3 from north to south on the Levantine coast.
From: The Hellenistic - Roman transition in glass technology: insights from Nysa-Scythopolis
Our proposed model for a chronological shift from North to South in glass production sites along the Levantine coast based on a systematic decrease in Al2O3 contents. A. From left - Mean Al2O3 values for IZT-1 glass from Tell Iẓṭabba ( > 1st cent BCE; star), compared to data sets for late Hellenistic (IZT-2 from Tell Iẓṭabba; blue star, and late Hellenistic glass from Beirut38; blue circle) and 1st BCE - 3rd centuries Roman-Mn glass from Beirut38, Carthage39, London27, Jerash26 and Iulia Felix40 (orange circles). Data sets for 4th century CE Jalame type glass recovered from Carthage39, Jerash26 and Jalame27 (purple circles), from 8th century CE Bet Eli’ezer glass41,43 (red circles) as well as for 6–7th century CE Apollonia type glass recovered from glass production at Apollonia41,42, Jerash26 and various sites in Israel43 (black circles). Error bars represent \(\pm\) 1 std dev. Note that symbol for the IZT-1 data set is larger than error bars. B. Map showing the geographical and proposed chronological increase in Al2O3 content observed for glass types produced from north to south along the Levantine coast. Known glass production sites on the South Levantine coast have Al2O3 > 2.8 wt% while lower Al2O3 in late Hellenistic and Roman-Mn type glasses with Al2O3 = 2.2–2.7 wt% imply production near Beirut. Based on lower Al2O3 (Al2O3 = 2.05 wt%) observed for IZT-1 type glasses, the implication is that these would have been produced further to the north of Beirut.
