On the Surface and Beyond. Degradation Morphologies Affecting Plant Ash-Based Archaeological Glass from Kafir Kala (Samarkand, Uzbekistan)

Research on glass fragments from Kafir Kala, Uzbekistan, reveals that degradation patterns—such as iridescence, opaque weathering, and blackening—are primarily influenced by burial environment and alkali leaching rather than glass composition. Despite all but one sample being plant ash-based, no clear correlation was found between composition and degradation type, which often co-occurred. The study employed optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy to analyze surface alterations, providing a foundation for future systematic research on archaeological glass degradation—a field lacking dedicated literature.

Fiorentino, S., Chinni, T., Galusková, D., Mantellini, S., Silvestri, A., Berdimuradov, A. E., & Vandini, M. (2021). On the Surface and Beyond. Degradation Morphologies Affecting Plant Ash-Based Archaeological Glass from Kafir Kala (Samarkand, Uzbekistan). Minerals, 11(12), 1364. https://doi.org/10.3390/min11121364