Τεχνολογία, διακίνηση και παθολογία διάβρωσης, υαλωδών υλικών της ύστερης εποχής του χαλκού από την Ανατολική Μεσόγειο.

Archaeometric studies of Late Bronze Age vitreous artifacts can provide important information on the raw materials and production methods used to make these artifacts, while also offering insight into the origins of this prestige good. Although there has been an increase in the number of analyses of glass and faience finds from this period, most of the research has centered on Egypt, the Near East, and Mycenaean Greece. This thesis focuses on beads excavated from ancient Methone (northern Greece), Kefalonia (western Greece), and Lofkend (southwestern Albania) in order to investigate the technology and origins of vitreous materials from these understudied regions. Chemical (pXRF, EPMA, LA-ICP-MS, SEM-EDS, XRD) and isotopic analysis indicates that the majority of the glass and faience beads were made at primary production sites in Egypt and the Near East. The results also revealed regional differences in bead types and glass technologies, as well as some material from different production zones.The vitreous assemblages from Kefalonia were greatly influenced by Mycenaean sites on the mainland. However, unique relief bead types were found that had been worked using glass of Egyptian origin. The identification of mixed alkali glass provides another early example of this compositional type made at primary production centers located to the west. Ancient Methone and Lofkend are characterized by glass assemblages with less common color palettes and production technologies. In the case of Lofkend, the glasses analyzed point to a composition not seen in the Late Bronze Age but are comparable to low lime, natron black glasses found in Europe and the Near East from 10th-8th c. BC contexts. The Lofkend finds point to regional innovation in glass technology and a possible new production zone that may include very early experimentation with a mineral alkali flux.The thesis also investigates the degradation pathologies identified on the glasses and the deterioration processes they underwent in situ. The examination and analysis of the beads shows that a complex series of factors, which include the burial environment, the presence of microorganisms, and the composition of the glass, act together to impact the preservation of archaeological vitreous materials.