Documenta Praehistorica L (2023) 434 DOI: 10.4312/dp.50.20 venia. Their number has increased notably, especially in the Dolenjska, Štajerska and Prekmurje regions of central and eastern Slovenia. The first synthesis aimed at combining a vast corpus of ceramic finds and radio- Introduction and archaeological background Extensive archaeological excavations launched due to motorway construction works from the late 1990s onwards dramatically changed our knowledge of the Middle and Late Bronze Age (BA) settlements in Slo- KLJUÈNE BESEDE – Slovenija; bronasta doba; horizont Oloris-Podsmreka; steklene jagode; PIXE in PIGE analize IZVLEÈEK – V prispevku predstavljamo rezultate analiz, opravljenih na treh steklenih jagodah z bro- nastodobnih najdišè Medvode-Svetje, Trata pri Škofji Loki in Kamna Gorica pri Ljubljani. Vsa tri naj- dišèa sodijo v horizont Oloris-Podsmreka, ki zajame srednjo in zaèetek pozne bronaste dobe (od ok. druge polovice 16. stoletja/prve polovice 15. stoletja do 12. stoletja pr. Kr.). PIXE in PIGE analize so po- kazale, da le dve izmed analiziranih jagod sodita v repertoar bronastodobnih jagod. Jagoda z najdišèa Medvode-Svetje je najverjetneje uvožena iz proizvodnega centra Frattesina v severni Italiji, medtem ko kaže jagoda z najdišèa Trata na podobnosti z vzhodno sredozemskim ali celo mezopotamskim obmoè- jem. Jagoda iz natronskega stekla z najdišèa Kamna Gorica najverjetneje predstavlja železnodobni infiltrat v bronastodobno plast. Najstarejše steklo na ozemlju Slovenije KEY WORDS – Slovenia; Bronze Age; Oloris-Podsmreka horizon; glass-beads; PIXE and PIGE analysis ABSTRACT - This paper presents the results of the analyses of three glass beads from three Bronze Age sites, Medvode-Svetje, Trata near Škofja Loka and Kamna Gorica near Ljubljana. All three sites belong to the Oloris-Podsmreka horizon, which covers the Middle and the beginning of the Late Bronze Age (c. second half of the 16th/first half of the 15th century to 12th century BC). The PIXE and PIGE analyses re- vealed that only two of the examined beads belong to the Bronze Age. The bead from the Medvode-Svetje site is similar to LMHK beads and is most likely an import from the Frattesina production centre in northern Italy, while the bead from the Trata site has similarities with the eastern Mediterranean or even Mesopotamian area HMg glass. The natron glass bead from Kamna Gorica is probably an Iron Age infiltrate in a Bronze Age layer. Elena Leghissa 1, Žiga Šmit 2,3, Barbara Brezigar 4, Vesna Svetličič 5, Peter Turk 5 1 Institute of Archaeology ZRC SAZU, Ljubljana, SI; elena.leghissa@zrc-sazu.si 2 University of Ljubljana, Faculty of mathematics and physics, SI; ziga.smit@fmf.uni-lj.si 3 Jožef Stefan Institute, Ljubljana, SI 4 Institute for the Protection of Cultural Heritage of Slovenia, Nova Gorica Regional Office, SI; brezigar.barbara2@gmail.com 5 National museum of Slovenia, Ljubljana, SI; vesna.svetlicic@nms.si, peter.turk@nms.si The earliest glass from the territory of Slovenia 435 The earliest glass from the territory of Slovenia carbon dates from these settlements was published by Matija Èrešnar and Biba Teržan (2014.681–688). The changed view on the Middle and early Late BA cultural landscape arises from these data (Fig. 1) with predominant open-air lowland settlements of very di- verse dimensions and extremely diverse house struc- tures. Rather sparse sunken huts appear occasionally in these settlements, as well as much more frequent and more dense rectangular houses of different sizes, defined by postholes (see site reports on particular settlements in Teržan, Èrešnar 2014: Kerman 2014. 44–63; Šavel, Sankoviè 2014a.65–67; Šavel, Sanko - viè 2014b; Tomaž 2014; Leghissa 2014; Turk, Svetli- èiè 2014; Kerman 2018; Šavel et al. 2011; 2013). The first comprehensive synthesis placed this BA horizon chronologically between the phases BA C and Ha A1, i.e. between the 14th and 12th centuries BC (Dular et al. 2002.170–174). It became clear due to the sub- sequent large series of radiocarbon dates that the Oloris – Podsmreka horizon begins already in the BA phase B2, if not even before, i.e. from the 16th/15th centuries BC onwards (Teržan 2010; Èrešnar, Teržan 2014.687, Fig. 24; Škvor Jernejèiè 2020.450, Fig. 2; Škvor Jernejèiè et al. 2022.94–96, Fig. 2). Among small finds, diverse ceramic pots and other ce ramic objects, such as spindle whorls and loom weights, strongly predominate on the Oloris – Pod- smreka settlements. Their formal features are simi lar to contemporaneous western Transdanubian and Sla - vonian ceramics from the Middle and early Late BA (Dular et al. 2002.182–214). In the context of the Mid - dle and beginning of the Late BA, the discovery of glass finds is quite exceptional. So far, seven glass beads have been discovered in Slovenia from six sites of this periods: Šiman near Gotovlje1, Vodice2, Med - vode-Svetje, Trata, Kamna Gorica and Škocjan3 (cf. Tomažiè, Oliæ 2009.15,49,G384–385; Le ghissa 2011. 157–158; Leghissa 2013.52; Brezigar, Klokoèovnik 2018.14, Fig. 17; Svetlièiè et al. in press. G90; Fa - bec, Vinazza 2023.Sl. 9:9), three of which are dis- cussed in this article (Figs. 2 and 3). Materials and methods The finds of glass beads Medvode-Svetje The settlement of Medvode-Svetje is located in the Gorenjska region, in the northwestern part of Slove- nia, near the confluence of the Sora and Sava rivers (Fig. 1). The first archaeological excavation took place in 2007, when an area of about 4300m2 was explored. Since then, several archaeological excavations have taken place in the very large area of the Medvode-Svetje plateau (Leghissa 2014; Škvor Jernejèiè et al. 2020. Fig. 7 and references cited therein). During the exca- vations, a Middle and Late Bronze Age site was dis- covered, which is assigned to the Oloris-Podsmreka horizon mentioned earlier (Leghissa 2014.333–343; Škvor Jernejèiè et al. 2020.102–109). In the NE area of the investigated Medvode-Svetje settlement, exca- vated in 2007 – and according to finds, horizontal and vertical stratigraphy, radiocarbon dates and also typological classification of individual settlement re- mains – three separate phases were identified, cover- ing a period between the Br B2/C1 and Ha A phases (Leghissa 2011.190–191; Leghissa 2014.339–341; Škvor Jernejèiè et al. 2020.102–109). In this area the settlement remains are best preserved, which in- clude hearths, fireplaces, refuse and storage pits, and numerous postholes. Some of the postholes clearly show the layout of nine simple rectangular huts (Le- ghissa 2014.Fig. 19.2; Škvor Jernejèiè et al. 2020.Fig. 8). The oldest remains include a pit filled with silty clay and stones, charcoal fragments, and numerous fragments of various ceramic vessels. According to the radiocarbon dating analysis, it can be assigned to the period 1660–1497 cal BC (2σ – 95.4 %), which corresponds to the Br B2/C1 phase (Leghissa 2014. Fig. 19.10). Three huts, some pits and a hearth are as- signed to the second phase of the site (i.e. Br C2/D). From the hearth a charcoal sample was taken for ra- 1 Two glass beads were discovered at the site of Šiman near Gotovlje, which was also inhabited during the Oloris-Posmreka horizon (Tomažiè, Oliæ 2009). The beads were located in a building from the Late Copper Age. The authors leave open the question of whether these are the oldest beads in Slovenia or possible infiltrates. Due to the proximity to copper mines, they suggest that the beads could be of local production (Tomažiè, Oliæ 2009.49). 2 The prehistoric settlement of Vodice is attributed to the Oloris-Podsmreka horizon. The glass bead was discovered in the prehistoric cultural layer US 1017 (Leghissa 2013.52,54, Fig. 38). 3 New archaeological finds indicate that the Škocjan hillfort was built at the transition from the Early to the Middle Bronze Age and was inhabited until the Late Bronze Age. The glass bead, discovered in the Okroglica abyss near Škocjan, has not yet been examined in detail (see Fabec, Vinazza 2023.Sl. 8:9). 436 Elena Leghissa, Žiga Šmit, Barbara Brezigar, Vesna Svetličič, Peter Turk decorated with a spiral-wrapped white band (Fig. 4) and measures 1.2cm in length and 0.85cm in width. The barrel-shaped beads, together with the eye-bear- ing beads, were among the most widespread poly- chrome beads in Europe during the Late Bronze Age diocarbon dating, indicating a period between 1436 and 1266 cal BC – 2σ – 95.4 % (Leghissa 2014.342, Fig. 19.11; Škvor Jernejèiè et al. 2020.Figs. 15,16). The Medvode-Svetje settlement in the NE area reached its greatest extent in its third phase, the Ha A period, be- tween the 12th and 11th centuries BC. Six of the iden- tified huts could be assigned to this phase based on the finds and stratigraphy (Leghissa 2014.337–343; Škvor Jernejèiè et al. 2020.Fig. 8). After the end of the Ha A period, life in the settlement undoubtedly declined, as no finds or remains were discovered that would indicate further occupation of the area. Among the six huts dated to the third phase, one has been interpreted as a ‘weaver’s house’ (Fig. 5). Inside it, a pit was documented, interpreted as a pit for a vertical loom (Leghissa 2011.197–199). A smaller pit, probably a refuse pit, was discovered in the immedi- ate vicinity of the weaver’s house, in which several fragments of ceramic vessels, stones, pieces of char- coal, and a glass bead were found (Figs. 2.lower, 3.a, 4.left). The latter glass bead is only half preserved. It is barrel-shaped with a cylindrical perforation and Fig. 1. Map of the settlements in Slovenia dating to the Oloris – Podsmreka horizon (central and eastern Slo venia – the red symbols) and important contemporaneous sites from western Slovenia (the orange symbols). After Škvor Jernejèiè et al. 2022.Fig. 1, with additions. The green symbols indicate the sites from which the glass beads analysed for this article were recovered. Map made by Elena Leghissa. Fig. 2. The glass beads from the Bronze Age settle- ments of Trata (upper left), Medvode-Svetje (lower) and Kam na Gorica (upper right). © Narodni muzej Slovenije. Photo Tomaž Lauko. 437 The earliest glass from the territory of Slovenia tribution of this type of beads covers a wide area in continental Europe. They have been found in large numbers in Switzerland, Germany and parts of Po- land, but are also present, albeit rarer, in France, along the Danube, on Adriat- ic coast, in Greece, and on the coast of Turkey (Henderson 1988.436; Towle et al. 2001.47, Fig. 7; Bellintani, Angelini 2020.86, Tab. 3). Apart from the bead from Medvode-Svetje, there is only one other example of a barrel- shaped bead from Slovenia, a greenish bead with a white chord found in grave 289 from Dobova (Stare 1975.34, T. 41: 3; Gabrovec 1983.56, T. VII: 16; Bleèiè Kavur 2014.63–64; cfr. Šmit et al. 2020.Fig. 1: 11).4 Trata near Škofja Loka The BA settlement of Trata near Škofja Loka is lo- cated about 5.3km upstream of the Sora River from the Medvode-Svetje site in the Gorenjska region (Fig. 1). During archaeological excavations from 2018 to 2020, numerous settlement remains dating to the Middle BA and the beginning of the Late BA were discovered on an area of 18 868m2 (Brezigar, Klokoèovnik 2018; Brezigar 2021). Numerous post- holes enabled the reconstruction of ground plans of at least forty-three rectangular buildings in a settle- ment of the scattered type. Also excavated were a few hearths, numerous storage and refuse pits, and other pits of unknown function. Despite the numerous re- mains, it is not yet possible to define different phases (Bellintani, Angelini 2020.85–86, Tab. 3). They were found in extraordinary numbers in northern Italy, where they are concentrated mainly in the Po Valley. Here, the site of Frattesina near Fratta Polesina in the province of Rovigo should be mentioned, dated to the Late Bronze Age (13th to 9th century BC), where a strong production of glass beads is recorded (e.g., Towle et al. 2001; Bellintani, Angelini 2020). Bar- rel-shaped beads with a white spiral are dated at Frat- tesina to its phase BF1 (12th century BC), where they first appear, and are most abundant in phase BF2 (11th century BC) and only exceptionally preserved in the last phase BF3 (10th century BC) (Bellintani, An- gelini 2020.84–85). In the Alps they are also known as Pfahlbauperlen (after Vogt) and later as Pfahlbau- tönnchenperlen mit Spirale (Pfahlbauperlen mit Spi - rale’), a designation developed by Thea Elisabeth Hae- vernick (Haevernick 1978.145–146; see also Towle et al. 2001.12; Bellintani, Angelini 2020.86). The dis- Fig. 3. Three glass beads analysed and discussed in the present ar- ticle: a Medvode-Svetje; b Trata; c Kamna Gorica. Bar scale 1 cm. © Narodni muzej Slovenije. Photo Tomaž Lauko. 4 The bead from Dobova was discovered in female grave 289, which is one of the richest graves in the entire necropolis and dates back to the 11th century BC (see e.g., Bleèiè Kavur 2014.63-64, fn. 232). Fig. 4 (left). The glass bead from the Medvode-Svetje site, seen from the other side, where the wrapping of the white spiral is visible. © Narodni muzej Slovenije. Photo Tomaž Lauko. Fig. 5 (right). Medvode-Svetje site: reconstruction of the ground plan of the ‘weaver’s house’ with the post- holes and the remains of a pit for a vertical loom in the middle of the building. Photo Matija Lukiæ (after Leghissa 2011). 438 Elena Leghissa, Žiga Šmit, Barbara Brezigar, Vesna Svetličič, Peter Turk sions and rectangular ground plan, defined by post- holes. The Kamna Gorica BA settlement is well placed in the cultural milieu of the Oloris – Podsmreka hori- zon, both in terms of the characteristics of the resi- dential buildings and as regards its pottery shapes. To some extent, its radiocarbon dates are surprising, indicating an earlier start of this horizon of sites than previously established (Turk, Svetlièiè 2014.361– 362; Svetlièiè et al. in press). Additionally, the set- tlement clearly attests the temporal sequence of the two main types of residential buildings. According to radiocarbon analyses, the large pits that function as sunken huts are older than the rectangular postholes huts. We date three of the four sunken huts to the timespan between the 17th and 15th centuries BC. Ra- diocarbon dating of two of the six identified rectangu- lar huts indicates their chronological setting between the 14th and 12th centuries BC. Some other Oloris – Podsmreka horizon sites indicate a similar temporal sequence of the earlier appearance of sunken huts. Rectangular huts prevail only from the 14th century BC onwards. We found the glass bead (Figs. 2.upper right, 3.c) in the settlement layer with no clear connection either to sunken huts or rectangular huts (Svetlièiè et al. in press. G90; inv. No. P 30419, kept at the National Museum of Slovenia). The blue transparent perforat- ed glass bead is of spherical shape, with a diameter of 0.7cm and height of 0.6cm. According to its colour and shape, the Kamna Gorica glass bead is similar to some Frat tesina beads (Bellintani, An gelini 2020.Tab. 2: 2/2), but also to the glass beads from the transition period Late BA – Ear- ly Iron Age from the Dolenjska region (Križ, Turk 2003.61–62, cat. no. 5–10; Šmit et al. 2020.2, T. 1: 5,8, Fig. 1: 5,8). Analytical procedure The beads were analysed by the in-air proton beam of 3 MeV no- minal energy provided by the Tandetron accelerator of the Jo- žef Stefan Institute in Ljubljana. The proton induced X-ray (PIXE) method was used for the analy- sis of elements from including silicon onwards, while the light of the settlement, as the study of the field documen- tation and finds is still in progress. According to the preliminary data of the typological and chronological analyses of the ceramic finds, the settlement of Trata is assigned to the Oloris-Podsmreka horizon (see also Škvor Jernejèiè et al. 2022.112). So far, there are two calibrated dates, one from a refuse pit and one from a pit with loom weights in the interior of one of the houses at the Trata site, which points to the 14th and 13th century BC, that is, to the middle/late phase of the Oloris-Podsmreka horizon (Škvor Jernejèiè et al. 2022.110,112, Fig. 24). The glass bead was discovered in a small concentra- tion of pottery sherds and stones, probably repre- senting a remnant of the prehistoric cultural layer/ ground surface (Fig. 6) (Brezigar, Klokoèovnik 2018. 24,85–86, Fig. 27). The bead has a round shape and is light blue in colour (Figs. 2.upper left, 3.b). The dia - meter of the bead is 9.4mm, inner diameter of the hole is 4.4mm, and height is 4.8mm (Brezigar, Klo- koèovnik 2018.59). Kamna Gorica near Ljubljana The BA settlement was excavated in 2004 as part of rescue excavations on a motorway route with a total area of 4200m2 (Turk, Svetlièiè 2014; Svetlièiè et al. in press). Two different types of residential structures characterize the settlement: four larger unregularly shaped pits with hearths in the function of sunken huts and six houses or rather huts of small dimen- Fig. 6. Concentrations of pottery sherds and stones from the Trata site, where the glass bead was found (US 17). Photo Manca Omahen (after Bre­ zigar, Klokoèovnik 2018.Fig. 27). 439 The earliest glass from the territory of Slovenia timated to be better than 5%, but it may increase to 10–15% for elements below 0.1% and trace elements. Before measurement, the beads were washed with alcohol. The bead from Trata, which has a grooved surface, was oriented in the way that the induced X-rays were not absorbed in the groove walls. The bulk value for the bead from Svetje, which is halved, was obtained on the cleaved surface. The results of the measurement are shown in Table 1. Discussion Glass types The three beads are of different glass types. The bead from Trata is made from the ash of halophytic plants, the bead from Medvode-Svetje is made of mixed alka- lis, likely of the type low-magnesium high potassium (LMHK). The bead from Kamna Gorica seems to be made of natron glass. elements of Na, Mg and Al were determined accord- ing to the emitted gamma rays (PIGE) induced by inelastic nuclear scat tering. A proton beam of a few nA was extracted into air through a 200nm thick foil of silicon nitride and further passed a 7mm long air- gap between window and target; due to energy loss in both media, the impact energy at the target was 2.94MeV. The irradiation time for an individual target was 30 minutes. The induced X-rays were detected by a Si(Li) detector of 140eV resolution at 5.89keV positioned 45mm from the target. The detector was equipped with a pinhole filter made of 0.05mm thick aluminium foil with a relative opening of about 9%. For accurate mathematical description of the pinhole transmission function, it was assumed that the hole also has an inner rim of smaller thickness. Previous calibrations also showed that the detector crystal is covered by an ice layer of 2.5mg/cm2. Spectral fitting was done by the Xantho code (Šmit 2023). The gam- ma rays were detected by an intrinsic germanium de- tector of 40% relative efficiency, with germa- nium crystal dimensions of 5cm x 5cm. The gamma rays used for analysis were 440keV for Na, 585keV for Mg, and 844 and 1014keV for Al. Among them the most critical was measurement of magnesium, as the 585keV line is weak and further coincides with the 583keV line from the natural background. The intensity of the natural background was reduced by lead shielding of the detector, yet the counting rate of 583keV line was taken into account as a correction. In spite of this, the detection limit for MgO was estimated as 0.2%. The detection limit for Na was below 50µg/g, and for aluminium it was below 0.1%. The detection limits for X-ray based elements were dominated by the energy dependence of ionization cross sections and varied between 5–10µg/g for Z<40 to about 50µg/g around Z=50. For the evaluation of concentrations, we relied on the procedure for independent physical parameters for X-rays, while for gam- ma rays we used the surface approximation calibrated by the NIST 620 glass standard. For normalization of concentrations, we used the RBS signal induced in the gold-foil coated chopper that intersected the beam in a vac- uum. The effects of sample misorientation and roughness were monitored according to the argon signal from the air, induced in the air gap between exit window and target. The accuracy of the major concentration was es- Trata KamnaGorica Medvode- Svetje Medvode-Svetje – white belt Na2O 18.6 10.9 5.55 4.23 MgO 5.51 0.19 1.84 n.d. Al2O3 0.75 2.23 1.60 3.80 SiO2 65.2 76.1 78.6 69.0 SO3 0.34 0.71 0.29 0.66 Cl 0.32 0.23 0.19 0.81 K2O 2.51 1.23 6.41 8.94 CaO 4.92 6.46 2.16 8.19 TiO2 0.059 0.62 0.077 0.96 Cr2O3 0.004 n.d. n.d. 0.007 MnO 0.038 0.016 0.015 0.103 Fe2O3 0.58 0.21 0.69 3.16 NiO 0.0035 0.0007 0.024 0.0063 CuO 1.00 0.83 2.37 0.20 ZnO 0.007 0.004 0.017 0.014 As2O3 n.d. 0.019 0.021 0.007 Br 0.0023 n.d. n.d. n.d. Rb2O n.d 0.0048 0.0110 0.0165 SrO 0.0596 0.0066 0.0189 0.0509 Y2O3 n.d. n.d. n.d. 0.0026 ZrO2 0.0039 0.0489 0.0035 0.0035 SnO2 0.062 n.d. 0.060 n.d. Sb2O3 0.014 0.18 0.029 n.d. PbO 0.009 n.d. 0.009 0.003 Tab. 1. Concentrations of metal oxides in mass %; n.d. – not detected. 440 Elena Leghissa, Žiga Šmit, Barbara Brezigar, Vesna Svetličič, Peter Turk It is interesting to note that the bulk contains approx- imately equal amounts of Rb2O and SrO, which sug- gests that the alkalis were obtained by the precipita- tion procedure, which removed the insolvable oxides from the product. The concentration of SrO is higher in the white belt (509µg/g), and we may suppose that limestone is its source. Trata Containing 18.6% Na2O, the bead is characterized as sodium-type glass. With 5.51% MgO and 2.51% MgO, the alkalis were provided by the ash of halophytic plants. The values of Na2O/(Na2O+K2O+MgO+CaO) = 0.59 and K2O/(Na2O+K2O+MgO+CaO) = 0.08 are close to those in the medieval beads produced from the ash desert plants (Šmit 2019), though the ash seems more purified. The other trace elements that may be char- acteristic are 30µg/g ZrO2 and 590 µg/g TiO2, which agrees both with Egyptian glass from Tel Amarna and Malkata, as well as from Mesopotamian glass from Nuzi and Tell Brak (Shortland et al. 2007; Brill 1999). The content of 40µg/g Cr2O3 (close to the detection limit) is not characteristic, nor is the ratio 1000*Cr/Ti = 77, which covers both Egyptian and Mesopotamian glass (Varberg et al. 2015). The aluminium content (0.75% Al2O3) is not significant, although in combi- Medvode-Svetje The bulk of the bead contains 1.84% MgO and 6.41% K2O, which roughly matches the composition of LMHK beads from Frattesina (Angelini et al. 2004). However, according to Pao- la Bellintani and Ivana Angelini (2020), the content of MgO seems closer to the beads of the Late Bronze and Early Iron Age glass- es attributed to Belozerka culture in Ukraine (Fig. 7) (Ostroverkhov 2002.406ss). The di stinction be- tween the Frattesina and Belozerka groups is nevertheless not so strict, as several glasses from one location may be found in areas usually do mi - nated by others. In this way, some beads and glasses from Frattesina also contain a slightly higher MgO content, similar to the Medvode- Svetje bead (Angelini et al. 2004; Bellintani, Angelini 2020.Fig. 10A). The content of Na2O of 5.55% and K2O is consistent with the composi- tion of coloured glass from mixed alkalis, but is not specific to the site. According to the finding of 1.6% Al2O3 and 0.69% Fe2O3 (which is equivalent to 0.62% FeO), the bead is further locat- ed at the border between Frattesina and Belozerka glass. The content of SiO2 is high, at 78.6%, and a sil- ica concentration above 70% is commonly found in Frattesina and Belozerka beads. The bead is coloured light blue with 2.37% of CuO, which puts it among the blue beads from Belozerka, and the same holds if we consider the content of 0.06% SnO2. Copper in LMHK beads, though at higher concentrations of about 5%, may also act as an additional glass stabilizer and flux (Paynter, Jackson 2022). The measurement on the white belt was done at the surface, so some contamination from the earth may be present. The belt contains slightly more K2O (8.94%) than the bulk, and no MgO was detected, which is closer to the Frattesina bead composition. Sodium composition (4.23% Na2O) is slightly lower than in the bulk. On the other side, it contains much higher concentrations of aluminium (3.8% Al2O3), calcium (8.19% CaO), titanium (0.96% TiO2) and iron (3.16% Fe2O3), which suggests that minerals (lime- stone, feldspar) were used as colourants. Antimony as an opacifier was not detected. Fig. 7. MgO vs. K2O with schematically shown glass groups (according to Bellintani, Angelini 2020). The oval encircling the Belozerka LHMK data is calculated as an ellipse with semiaxes of two standard devi- ations. Experimental points from literature: for Frattesina Biavati and Verità (1989), Brill (1999), Santopadre and Verità (2000), Towle (2002), Angelini et al. (2004), Henderson et al. (2015), for Belozerka Ostroverkhov (2002). 441 The earliest glass from the territory of Slovenia Podzemelj, Stièna and Certosa horizons (Šmit et al. 2020). According to the statistical analysis of Roman Balvanoviæ (2023), Zr and Ti concentrations imply likely dating between the 8th and 6th centuries BC. The bead also contains antimony (0.18% Sb2O3), and a value in this range suggests the glass was recycled. A low amount of strontium (66µg/g SrO) points to a mineral source of limestone, rather than to mollusc shells in coastal sands (Freestone 2005). Conclusion Among the three, hypothetically BA glass beads from the Oloris – Podsmreka horizon settlements of Med- vode-Svetje, Trata and Kamna Gorica, only the former two proved to be of BA origin. Based on stratigraphic data and typological compar- isons with barrel-shaped beads from Frattesina and central Europe (the so-called Pfahlbautönnchenper- len mit Spirale), the bead from the Medvode-Svetje site was assigned to the last settlement phase, i.e. phase Ha A. The analyses carried out on the bead con- firm its classification in this time frame, since its com- position is similar to the beads from the Frattesina site in Italy and also the Belozerka culture in Ukraine. Despite the chemical similarities with the Belozerka beads, we can probably exclude the possibility of im- port from the mentioned area, as they are typologi- cally not comparable. Most Belozerka beads are of the monochromatic type and have a spiral band only ex- ceptionally (Ostroverkhov 2002.408). Typologically more comparable are the type 12 beads from Fratte- sina (Ital. perle a botticella con decorazione spirali- forme) (Bellintani, Angelini 2020.Tab. 2: 12). The archaeological context in which the glass bead from the Trata site was discovered suggests a chrono- logical placement in the time-span from the Middle BA to the beginning of the Late BA, i.e. between the 15th and 12th centuries BC. This chronological place- ment is also confirmed by the similarities in the HMg composition of the bead from Trata with BA beads from the Eastern Mediterranean or even Mesopota- mian areas. Due to its natron glass composition, the Kamna Gori- ca bead was highly likely infiltrated in the BA settle- ment layer sometime in the Early Iron Age. Although the Kamna Gorica bead proved not to be of BA origin, there is still a concentration of glass beads nation with the ratio of MgO/CaO=1.12 according to Matt Phelps (2018), the bead may be characterized as the Mesopotamian Type II glass; the samples lying nearby in this diagram are from Samarra. In compar- ison with the much later Islamic glass, the titanium and zirconium concentrations correspond to those seen with the glass from Tyre (Phelps 2018). The bead is coloured with 1% CuO and 0.58% Fe2O3, the presence of cobalt was not detected – this type of colouring was found, for example, in BA glass fragments from Sinai (Kemp et al. 2023) and in the blue beads from Nuzi (Shortland et al. 2007; bead 1930.82.17a) – with 0.96% CuO (elemental values were recalculated into oxides), 0.376% Fe2O3 and 5.7µg/g CoO; such a low Co value is below the detec- tion limit in PIXE if iron lines are present in the spec- trum. The provenience of the bead thus remains enigmat- ic, though Levantine or Mesopotamian origin seems more probable than Egyptian. Kamna Gorica The low MgO concentration of 0.19% (at the detection limit) and K2O concentration of 1.23% suggest that the bead was made of natron glass, which excludes it as a BA object. The sodium concentration is reason- ably low (10.9% Na2O), which may indicate that the alkalis were partly leached out. The bead could have been made either in prehistory during the Iron Age or in Late Antiquity; in the latter case, its composition should match one of the known glass types. Accord- ing to 2.23% Al2O3 and 6.46% CaO, the bead would be at the border of HIMT and Foy Série 3 glass (Free- stone 2005); in our studies of prehistoric glass beads from Slovenia (Šmit et al. 2020), this area also con- tains glass beads from the Stièna, Certosa and Nego- va horizons. According to the values of Al2O3/SiO2 = 0.029 and TiO2/Al2O3 = 0.28, the bead does not match any of the known glass groups from Late Antiquity (Freestone 2018). We also calculated the Euclidean distance for nine principal metal oxides (concerning their mean and 2σ as length unit) and did not obtain any match; the closest groups were Egypt II and HIMT, which are both of Egyptian origin. Egyptian origin may also be indicated by a relatively high zirconium content (489µg/g), which is characteristic of Egyp- tian sands. The Late Antiquity origin of the bead can be excluded. The bead is very likely of the Iron Age period, as the high TiO2/Al2O3 values above 0.2 are encountered in several prehistoric beads dated to the 442 Elena Leghissa, Žiga Šmit, Barbara Brezigar, Vesna Svetličič, Peter Turk within the Oloris – Podsmreka horizon in its western periphery (Fig. 1; a further potential BA bead from the close Gorenjska site of Vodice should be men- tioned here).5 This could be a further hint to the import of these extremely rare prestigious items to central Slovenia from the centres of glass production in northern Italy. 5 With the exception of two beads from the site of Šiman near Gotovlje, which are assumed to have been produced locally (Tomažiè, Oliæ 2009). Acknowledgements The financial support from the Slovenian Research and Innovation Agency (research core funding Nos. P6- 0064 and P6-0283) for writing this article is acknowl- edged. Angelini I., Artioli, G., Bellintani P., Diella V., Gemmi M., Polla A., Rossi A. 2004. Chemical analyses of Bronze Age glasses from Frattesina del Rovigo, Northern Italy. Journal of Archaeological Science 31: 1175–1184. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2004.02.015 Balvanoviæ R. 2023. Types and provenance of glass from central and western Balkans in the period of 11th c. BCE– 6th c. CE. 29th EAA annual meeting. Belfast 2023. Abstract Book. Belfast: 472–472. https://www.ub.edu/artsounds capes/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/EAA-2023_Abstract- Book_PAGE_1114.pdf Bellintani P., Angelini I. 2020. I vetri di Frattesina. Carat- terizzazione crono-tipologica, archeometria e confronti nell’ambito dell’Tarda Etá del Bronzo dell’Europa centro-o- rientale e del Mediterraneo. Padusa 56: 71–118. Biavati A., Verità M. 1989. The glass from Frattesina, a glas- smaking center in the late Bronze Age. Rivista della Stazio- ne Sperimentale del Vetro 4: 295–299. Bleèiæ Kavur M. 2014. Na razmeðu svjetova za prijela- za milenija: Kasno bronèano doba na Kvarneru/At the crossroads of worlds at the turn of the millennium: The Late Bronze Age in the Kvarner region. Musei Archaeolo- gici Zagrabiensis Catalogi et Monographiae. Katalozi i mo nografije Arheološkog muzeja u Zagrebu. Volume XI. Arheo loški muzej u Zagrebu. Bratina P. 2010. Nova arheološka odkritja v Vipavski do- lini. Marušièev zbornik. Zbornik prispevkov v poèastitev 70-letnice prof. dr. Branka Marušièa. Goriški letnik. Zbor- nik Goriškega muzeja 33–34(1). Goriški muzej. Nova Gori- ca: 155–180. Brezigar B., Klokoèovnik I. 2018. Preliminarno poroèilo o arheološkem izkopavanju na Trati pri Škofji Loki zaradi širitve stavbnih zemljišè vzhodno od obstojeèe industrij- ske cone Trata na obmoèju arheološkega najdišèa Gode- šiè (parc. št. 162/2, k.o. Godešiè). Unpublished archaeolo- gical report, kept in ZVKDS OE Ljubljana. Brezigar B. 2021. Preliminarno poroèilo o arheološkem izkopavanju na Trati pri Škofji Loki zaradi širitve stavb- nih zemljišè vzhodno od obstojeèe industrijske cone Tra- ta na obmoèju arheološkega najdišèa Godešiè – modul 6 (parc. št. 162/1, k.o. Godešiè). Unpublished archaeologi- cal report, kept in ZVKDS OE Ljubljana. Brill R. H. 1999. Chemical analyses of early glasses. Vo- lume 2. Tables of Analyses. The Corning Museum of Glass. New York: 58. Èrešnar M., Teržan B. 2014. Absolutno datiranje bronaste dobe na Slovenskem/Absolute dating of the Bronze Age in Slovenia. In B. Teržan, M. Èrešnar (eds.), Absolutno dati- ranje bronaste in železne dobe na Slovenskem/Absolute dating of the Bronze and Iron Ages in Slovenia. Katalo- gi in monografije 40. Narodni muzej Slovenije. Ljubljana: 661–702. Dular J., Šavel I., and Tecco Hvala S. 2002. Bronastodobno naselje Oloris pri Dolnjem Lakošu. Opera Instituti Archae- ologici Sloveniae 5. Ljubljana 2002. https://doi.org/10.3986/9789612544980 Fabec T., Vinazza M. 2023. Škocjan od 3341±45 BP do 2010. Raziskave Centra za preventivno arheologijo v letih 2009–2010. Goriški letnik 47: 9–52. Freestone I. C. 2005. The Provenance of Ancient Glass through Compositional Analysis. MRS Online Proceedings Library 852: 188–201 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1557/PROC-852-OO8.11 Freestone I. C., Degryse P., Lankton J., Gratuze B., and Schneider J. 2018. HIMT, Glass composition and commodi- ty branding in the primary glass industry. In D. Rosenow, M. Phelps, A. Meeks, and I. Freestone (eds.), Things that Travelled: Mediterranean Glass in the Fist Millennium CE. UCL Press. London: 159–190. Gabrovec S. 1983. Jugoistoènoalpska regija. In A. Benac (ed.), Praistorija Jugoslavenskih Zemalja IV. Bronèano References ∴ 443 The earliest glass from the territory of Slovenia doba. Akademija nauka i umjetnosti Bosne i Hercegovine. Centar za balkanološka ispitivanja. Sarajevo: 21–96. Haevernick T. E. 1978. Urnenfelderzeitliche Glasperlen: eine Bestandesaufnahme. Zeitschrift für schweizerische Archäologie und Kunstgeschichte 35: 145–157. https://doi.org/10.5169/seals-166980 Henderson J. 1988. Glass production and Bronze Age Eu- rope. Antiquity 62: 435–451. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0003598X00074548 Henderson J., Evans J., and Bietti-Sestieri A.-M. 2015. Pro- duction, mixing and provenance of Late Bronze Age mixed alkali glasses from northern Italy: an isotopic approach. Journal of Archaeological Science 55: 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2014.12.006 Kemp V., Delbey Th., and Shortland A. 2023. The dating and provenance of glass fragments from the site of Serabit el-Khâdim, Sinai. Journal of Archaeological Science: Re- ports 49: 103920. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2023.103920 Kerman B. 2014. Pince pri Lendavi/Pince near Lendava. In B. Teržan, M. Èrešnar (eds.), Absolutno datiranje bronas- te in železne dobe na Slovenskem/Absolute dating of the Bronze and Iron Ages in Slovenia. Katalogi in monografi- je 40. Narodni muzej Slovenije. Ljubljana: 31–63. 2018. Pod grunti – Pince pri Pincah. Arheologija na av- tocestah 55. Zavod za varstvo kulturne dedišèine Slove- nije. Ljubljana. http://www.zvkds.si/sl/kategorija-publikacije/e-knjige Križ B., Turk P. 2003. Steklo in jantar Novega mesta. Dolenjski muzej in Narodni muzej Slovenije. Novo mesto. Ljubljana. Leghissa E. 2011. Bronastodobna naselbina Medvode- Svet je. Obdelava arheoloških ostalin in najdb iz izkopa- vanj 2007. Unpublished diploma thesis. Department of archaeology. Faculty of arts. University of Ljubljana. Ljubl- jana. (ed.). 2013. Poroèilo o arheološkem izkopavanju naj- di š èa Vodice II – Repovnice, EŠD 29129 Bukovica pri Vodi cah – Repovnice (april-avgust 2013). Unpublished archa eological report, kept in ZVKDS OE Ljubljana. 2014. Medvode. In B. Teržan, M. Èrešnar (eds.), Absolut- no datiranje bronaste in železne dobe na Slovenskem/ Absolute dating of the Bronze and Iron Ages in Slove- nia. Katalogi in monografije 40. Narodni muzej Sloveni- je. Ljubljana: 333–343. Ostroverkhov A. S. 2002. Drevneisheye arkheologiches- koye steklo vostochnoi Eevropy (konets IV tys. do n.e.- per- vaya polovina VII v. Do n.e.)/The earliest archaeological glass in Eastern Europe (late IV mill. – first half of VII cent. B.C. Stratum plus 2: 386–430. Paynter S., Jackson C. M. 2022. Investigating Late Bronze Age glass beads from Stotfold, Bedfordshire. UK. Heritage 5: 634–645. https://doi.org/10.3390/heritage5020035 Phelps M. 2018. Glass supply and trade in early Islamic Ramla: An investigation of the plant ash glass. In D. Rose- now, M. Phelps, A. Meeks, and I. Freestone (eds.), Things that Travelled: Mediterranean Glass in the First Millen- nium CE. UCL Press. London: 236–282. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt21c4tb3.17 Santopadre A., Verità M. 2000. Analyses of the production technologies of Italian vitreous materials of the Bronze age. Journal of Glass Studies 42: 25–40. Shotland A., Rogers N., and Eremin K. 2007. Trace element discrimination between Egyptian and Mesopotamian Latre Bronze glasses. Journal of Archaeological Science 34: 781–789. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2006.08.004 Stare F. 1975. Dobova. Posavski muzej Brežice. Knjiga 2. Brežice. Svetlièiè V., Turk P., and Turk M. 2023. Kamna Gorica pri Ljubljani. Arheologija na avtocestah Slovenije. In press. Šavel I., Sankoviè S. 2011. Pri Muri pri Lendavi. Arheolo- gija na avtocestah 23. Zavod za varstvo kulturne dedišèine Slovenije. Ljubljana. https://www.zvkds.si/sl/knjiznica/pri-muri-pri-lendavi 2013. Nedelica pri Turnišèu. Arheologija na avtocestah 39. Zavod za varstvo kulturne dedišèine Slovenije. Ljubl- jana 2013. https://www.zvkds.si/sl/kategorija-publikacije/e-knjige 2014a. Trimlini pri Lendavi/Trimlini near Lendava. In B. Teržan, M. Èrešnar (eds.), Absolutno datiranje in želez- ne dobe na Slovenskem/Absolute dating of the Bronze and Iron Ages in Slovenia. Katalogi in monografije 40. Narodni muzej Slovenije. Ljubljana: 65–77. 2014b. Nedelica pri Turnišèu/Nedelica near Turnišèe. In B. Teržan, M. Èrešnar (eds.), Absolutno datiranje bro- naste in železne dobe na Slovenskem/Absolute dating of the Bronze and Iron Ages in Slovenia. Katalogi in monografije 40. Narodni muzej Slovenije. Ljubljana: 83– 90. Škvor Jernejèiè B. 2020. The earliest cremation burials in the south-eastern Alpine region from the Middle Bronze Age – signs of intercultural connections with the northern Carpathian Basin. Prähistorische Zeitschrift 95(2): 447– 490. https://doi.org/10.1515/pz-2020-0024 444 Elena Leghissa, Žiga Šmit, Barbara Brezigar, Vesna Svetličič, Peter Turk Škvor Jernejèiè B., Leghissa E., and Brezigar B. 2022. Settle- ment patterns in the Eastern and Central Slovenia during the Middle and the Late Bronze Age (The Oloris – Podsmre- ka horizon). Ipotesi di Preistoria 15: 93–120. https://doi.org/10.6092/ISSN.1974-7985/15721 Šmit Ž. 2019. Glass analysis in relation to historical que- stions. In N. Palincaº, C. C Ponta (eds.), Bridging science and heritage in the Balkans: studies in archaeometry, cultural heritage restoration and conservation. Archae- opress. Oxford: 103–109. 2023. XANTHO – A simple basic program for fitting X-ray spectra. Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research B 540: 19–23. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nimb.2023.04.006 Šmit Ž., Laharnar B., and Turk P. 2020. Analysis of prehis- toric glass from Slovenia. Journal of Archaeological Sci- ence: Reports 29: 102114. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2019.102114 Teržan B. 2010. Diskusijski prispevek o srednji bronasti dobi v Prekmurju. Zbornik soboškega muzeja 15: 151– 171. Teržan B., Èrešnar M. 2014. Absolutno datiranje bronaste in železne dobe na Slovenskem/Absolute dating of the Bronze and Iron Ages in Slovenia. Katalogi in monogra- fije 40. Narodni muzej Slovenije. Ljubljana. Tica G., Bratina P. 2022. Gradišèe nad Hrašèami. Arheolo- gija na avtocestah 88. Zavod za varstvo kulturne dedišèine Slovenije. Ljubljana. https://www.zvkds.si/sl/kategorija-publikacije/e-knjige Tomaž A. 2014. Lenart v Slovenskih goricah/Lenart in Slo- venske gorice. In B. Teržan, M. Èrešnar (eds.), Absolutno datiranje bronaste in železne dobe na Slovenskem/Abso- lute dating of the Bronze and Iron Ages in Slovenia. Kata- logi in monografije 40. Narodni muzej Slovenije. Ljubljana: 191–195. Tomažiè S., Oliæ S. 2009. Šiman pri Gotovljah. Arheologija na avtocestah Slovenije 9. Ljubljana. https://www.zvkds.si/sl/kategorija-publikacije/e-knjige Towle A. 2002. A scientific and archaeological investiga- tion of prehistoric glass from Italy. Unpublished Ph.D the- sis. University of Nottingham. Nottingham. https://eprints. nottingham.ac.uk/11741/: 447–449, 453. Towle A., Henderson J., Bellintani P., and Gambacurta G. 2001. Frattesina and Adria: Report of scientific analyses of early glass from the Veneto. Padusa 37: 7–68. Turk P., Svetlièiè V. 2014. Kamna Gorica pri Ljubljani/Kam- na Gorica near Ljubljana. In B. Teržan, M. Èrešnar (eds.), Absolutno datiranje bronaste in železne dobe na Sloven- skem/Absolute dating of the Bronze and Iron Ages in Slovenia. Katalogi in monografije 40. Narodni muzej Slo- venije. Ljubljana: 355–362. Varberg J., Gratuze B., and Kaul F. 2015. Between Egypt, Mesopotamia and Scandinavia: Late Bronze Age glass be- ads found in Denmark. Journal of Archaeological Science 54: 168–181. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2014.11.036 Vinazza M., Draksler M. 2019. Na sledi zgodnjebronasto- dobne poselitve v dolini Rižane. Studia universitatis he- reditati 6(2): 29–45. https://www.hippocampus.si/ISSN/ 2350-5443/2-2018/2350-5443.6(2)29-45.pdf back to content