The chemical composition and manufacturing technology of glass beads excavated from the Hetian Bizili site, Xinjiang
The Hetian Bizili site in Lop County, located on the southern route of the Silk Road in Xinjiang, China, was a trade and cultural hub between the East and the West in ancient times. In 2016, a large number of glass beads were unearthed from the 40 tombs excavated on this site. In this study we deter...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Springer Nature
2020
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| Online Access: | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/64791/ |
| _version_ | 1848800166197329920 |
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| author | Wang, Dong Wen, Rui Henderson, Julian Hu, Xingjun Li, Wenying |
| author_facet | Wang, Dong Wen, Rui Henderson, Julian Hu, Xingjun Li, Wenying |
| author_sort | Wang, Dong |
| building | Nottingham Research Data Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | The Hetian Bizili site in Lop County, located on the southern route of the Silk Road in Xinjiang, China, was a trade and cultural hub between the East and the West in ancient times. In 2016, a large number of glass beads were unearthed from the 40 tombs excavated on this site. In this study we determined the chemical compositions and manufacturing technology of bodies and decorations of twelve glass beads from the M5 tomb of Bizili by using LA-ICP-AES, EDXRF, Raman Spectrometry, and SR-μCT. The chemical compositions of the beads were all Na2O–CaO–SiO2, with plant ash mainly used as a flux. Lead antimonate and lead stannate were used as the opacifying agents. We detected elevated levels of boron and high levels of phosphorus in some beads: this is discussed in the context of the type of flux used and the possible use of a P-rich opacifier. Some of the beads with high contents of aluminum may potentially come from Pakistan. In terms of manufacturing technology, the craftsmen made ‘eye’ beads in different ways and also trail decorated beads. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T20:47:14Z |
| format | Article |
| id | nottingham-64791 |
| institution | University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus |
| institution_category | Local University |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T20:47:14Z |
| publishDate | 2020 |
| publisher | Springer Nature |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | nottingham-647912021-03-24T02:53:25Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/64791/ The chemical composition and manufacturing technology of glass beads excavated from the Hetian Bizili site, Xinjiang Wang, Dong Wen, Rui Henderson, Julian Hu, Xingjun Li, Wenying The Hetian Bizili site in Lop County, located on the southern route of the Silk Road in Xinjiang, China, was a trade and cultural hub between the East and the West in ancient times. In 2016, a large number of glass beads were unearthed from the 40 tombs excavated on this site. In this study we determined the chemical compositions and manufacturing technology of bodies and decorations of twelve glass beads from the M5 tomb of Bizili by using LA-ICP-AES, EDXRF, Raman Spectrometry, and SR-μCT. The chemical compositions of the beads were all Na2O–CaO–SiO2, with plant ash mainly used as a flux. Lead antimonate and lead stannate were used as the opacifying agents. We detected elevated levels of boron and high levels of phosphorus in some beads: this is discussed in the context of the type of flux used and the possible use of a P-rich opacifier. Some of the beads with high contents of aluminum may potentially come from Pakistan. In terms of manufacturing technology, the craftsmen made ‘eye’ beads in different ways and also trail decorated beads. Springer Nature 2020-12-08 Article PeerReviewed application/pdf en cc_by https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/64791/1/The%20chemical%20composition%20and%20manufacturing%20technology%20of%20glass%20beads%20excavated%20from%20the%20Hetian%20Bizili%20site%2C%20Xinjiang.pdf Wang, Dong, Wen, Rui, Henderson, Julian, Hu, Xingjun and Li, Wenying (2020) The chemical composition and manufacturing technology of glass beads excavated from the Hetian Bizili site, Xinjiang. Heritage Science, 8 (1). ISSN 2050-7445 glass eye beads; Xinjiang; the Silk Road; Bizili site http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s40494-020-00469-x doi:10.1186/s40494-020-00469-x doi:10.1186/s40494-020-00469-x |
| spellingShingle | glass eye beads; Xinjiang; the Silk Road; Bizili site Wang, Dong Wen, Rui Henderson, Julian Hu, Xingjun Li, Wenying The chemical composition and manufacturing technology of glass beads excavated from the Hetian Bizili site, Xinjiang |
| title | The chemical composition and manufacturing technology of glass beads excavated from the Hetian Bizili site, Xinjiang |
| title_full | The chemical composition and manufacturing technology of glass beads excavated from the Hetian Bizili site, Xinjiang |
| title_fullStr | The chemical composition and manufacturing technology of glass beads excavated from the Hetian Bizili site, Xinjiang |
| title_full_unstemmed | The chemical composition and manufacturing technology of glass beads excavated from the Hetian Bizili site, Xinjiang |
| title_short | The chemical composition and manufacturing technology of glass beads excavated from the Hetian Bizili site, Xinjiang |
| title_sort | chemical composition and manufacturing technology of glass beads excavated from the hetian bizili site, xinjiang |
| topic | glass eye beads; Xinjiang; the Silk Road; Bizili site |
| url | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/64791/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/64791/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/64791/ |