Investigation on Medieval Glass from Poggio Diana Castle (Ribera, Agrigento, Sicily) by LA-ICP-MS and UV-VIS Reflectance Spectroscopy

The results of physicochemical analyses performed by ICP-MS with laser ablation solid sampling and UV-VIS Reflectance Spectroscopy on several medieval and postmedieval glass fragments from the Southwestern Sicily are presented and discussed. The samples come from the excavation of a dump found in the Castle of Poggio Diana, built from the end of the 14th century along the final course of the Verdura river. The elemental analysis data show that the glass samples were produced using sodic vegetable ashes as fluxing agents, except for one potassic glass. In order to recognize the silica sources, considering the contents of alumina and other oxides, different groups have been identified. The contents of major and minor elements of these glasses were compared to that of samples of the same period excavated in the nearby archaeological site of Castello Nuovo (Sciacca, Sicily), in order to put a first basis to get a clearer insight into the production of glass and the evolution of the use of raw materials in the Southwestern Sicily.