Late Roman glass from Viminacium and Egeta (Serbia): glass-trading patterns on Iron Gates Danubian Limes

Abstract

The paper reports on the composition of thirty-eight Late Roman glass fragments (3rd–4th century CE) from Viminacium, the capital of Moesia Province, and Egeta, the fort controlling Iron Gates Gorge on the Roman Danube Limes. The glasses are measured using simultaneous particle-induced X-ray emission (PIXE) and particle-induced gamma-ray emission (PIGE). The analysis shows that sixteen glasses belong to the Roman glass decolourized by antimony, nine to the Roman glass decolourized by manganese, and one is recycled using these two types. Five glasses belong to the Foy série 3.2, two to HIMT, one to Jalame type with manganese and one to the rare plant-ash type P-1, produced in Egypt, and for the first time reported from the continental Europe. The comparison of the finds with the contemporary glass from Serbia and from the wider Balkans shows a marked shift in glass trading patterns between the epochs of the High Empire and the Late Antiquity. During the High Empire, glass seems to be imported to the central and eastern Balkans mainly from the west via Roman road Aquileia–Emona–Siscia–Sirmium–Viminacium and perhaps via Adriatic ports, while in the Late Antiquity it was predominantly from east to west, over the Danube, Via Militaris or Aegean ports. Another find is that the richness of the glass market in Viminacium indicates that the capital of Moesia province on the Danube limes was a cosmopolitan city.