Scientific Studies on Beads Unearthed From the Rabat Cemetery, Uzbekistan
WU Chen1, LIU Song2, LIANG Yun3, ZHAO Feng-yan1, LI Qing-hui2, WANG Jian-xin3
1. Xi'an Institute of Conservation and Archaeology, Xi'an 710068, China
2. Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201800, China
3. School of Cultural Heritage，Northwest University, Xi'an 710069, China
Abstract：In 2017—2018, the China-Uzbekistan joint archaeological team conducted the excavations at the Rabat Cemetery at Boysun, Uzbekistan. 94 tombs were excavated. Preliminary archaeological studies have shown that the cemetery is a Yuezhi culture cemetery from the end of the 2nd century BC to the early 2nd century AD, with rich cultural factors, which provides important archaeological new data for the study of the ancient Yuezhi cultural features and the study of ancient culture from the 2nd century BC to the 2nd century AD in the North Bactria region. Over 1, 500 pieces of beads and pendants in various textures were unearthed in Rabat cemetery, providing abundant research materials. In this study, 13 samples of typical synthetic silicate beads are analyzed by Optical Microscopy, Energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy, Scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive spectromer, and laser Raman spectroscopy to figure out their chemical compositions and a part of the manufacturing technology. Moreover, possible provenances of these beads are discussed, combined with the morphological characteristics of specific samples found at this site. The results show that raw materials of the Rabat beads include sodium-rich faience, natron-based soda glass, plant-ash soda glass，hige-magnesia soda glass，mineral soda-alumina glass，plant ash soda-alumina glass and potash glass, and the productions cover Western Asia, the Mediterranean, Central Asian, India, Pakistan, and other regions. It argues that from the end of the 2nd century BC to the 2nd century AD, frequent economic exchanges and rich cultural interactions took place between the region of Rabat Cemetery and the areas of the Mediterranean, West Asia, and South Asia.
Key words：Rabat Cemetery; Bead;Faience; Ancient glass
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