Glass bead trade in Northeast Africa

Strings of colorful glass beads were a popular commodity traded throughout ancient Nubia in the earlier half of the first millennium AD. Combining macroscopic examination with laboratory analyses, the author breaks new ground in Nubian studies, establishing diagnostic markers for a study of trading markets and broader economic trends in Meroitic and post-Meroitic Nubia. Archaeometric results, lucidly presented and discussed, identify the origins of the glass from which the beads under investigation were made. The demonstrated South Indian/Sri Lankan provenance of some of the ready-made beads from Nubian burial contexts and a reconstruction of their distribution patterns in Northeast Africa is the first undisputed proof of contacts between Nubia and the Red Sea coast. Reaching beyond that, it shows Nubia’s involvement in the Asian maritime trade, whether directly or indirectly, during a period of intensive interchanges between the 4th and 6th centuries AD. By combining macroscopic and laboratory analyses of glass beads found at the Meroitic and late antique Nubian sites the study of bead types and glass groups used in their manufacture allows to confirm strong trade connections between Nubia and Mediterranean cultures. They bring evidence for circulation not only Egyptian but also Levantine glass in Northeast Africa as far as the region upstream the Sixth Cataract. Besides, the find of ready-made Sri Lankan/South Indian objects in late antique Nubian graves stimulates reflection on the extensive trade between the Nubia and the Red Sea coast. Eventually, the results provide the first evidence of the involvement of Nubia in the Asian maritime trade, whether directly or indirectly.

Acknowledgements 7 Introduction 9 Chapter 1: . Nubia in the Meroitic and post-Meroitic periods 11 Chapter 2: Beads in Meroitic and post-Meroitic cultures: iconographic and contextual overview 15 Chapter 3: Collections and archaeological contexts 17 Chapter 4: Morphological description of glass samples 25 Introduction 25 Techniques, provenance, parallels, and dating 25 Conclusions 37 Chapter 5: Chemistry of glass beads 101 Introduction 101 Method of analysis ( by Barbara Wagner) 102 Results 107 Discussion of provenance of glass groups and subgroups 160 Conclusions 164 Chapter 6: Discussion of the glass groups and beads produced 167 Chapter 7: Trade contacts in Northeast Africa 175 Introduction 175 Trade hubs, routes and operators in Northeast Africa 175 The Nubian trade 177 The bead trade 179 Chapter 8: Conclusions 187 Catalog 189 The SJE collection 190 The SNM collection 214 The MAP collection 240 The MNW collection 252 Parallels 257 Abbreviations and references 299 List of figures, tables and plates 312