Micro-PIXE analysis of early Islamic (10 th –11 th century AD) glass vessels from the Tape-Bahram historical site in Ray, Iran

Elemental analysis of glass objects dated back to the early Islamic period is of particular importance. During this period, a significant change occurred in the type of raw materials used in the glassmaking industry. In this research work, 36 glass fragments dated back to the Buyid period (10 th –11 th century AD) in the early Islamic period were analyzed by micro-particle-induced X-ray emission (micro-PIXE) technique to measure and to determine the major and minor elements of the samples. The glass objects studied in this research were found during the archaeological survey in 2019 at the Tape-Bahram historical site in ancient Ray, Iran. The main aims of this study are to measure the elemental composition, determine the type of glass, and examine the type of used raw materials as well as to determine the applied colorant and decolorant agents. Furthermore, it was assessed whether the investigated glass objects were locally produced or imported, by comparing the analysis results of Tape-Bahram glasses with the reported data of glass objects from other Islamic sites in the Eastern Mediterranean regions. The micro-PIXE results indicate that in the glasses obtained from Tape-Bahram, plant ash was used as a flux and all the analyzed glasses were classified as the plant ash silica-soda-lime glass type. Moreover, based on the chemical composition, the glass objects obtained from this site were divided into three separate groups. In addition, based on the obtained results, two distinctly different possibilities were identified in the manufacture of these glasses.