Elemental analysis of glass artifacts from Sarethi (India): Examining possible evidence of glass craft in northeastern Uttar Pradesh

Abstract

Fragments of glass bangles from the site of Sarethi in Uttar Pradesh, India were investigated using laser ablation – inductively coupled plasma – mass spectrometry. This site yielded glass artifacts dating from 200 BCE to 1500 CE but also some possible evidence of bangle making during the 200 BCE-300 CE period. Two main glass types were identified at the site, with only one sample with a possible Middle Eastern origin and all the other bangles manufactured from three different sub-types of Indian glass. Most of the tested samples belong to the recently discovered and still poorly documented glass group m-Na-Al 8. The other samples could be attributed to either the m-Na-Al 3 or m-Na-Al 4 glass types. We hypothesized that all these different m-Na-Al glasses were manufactured within the eastern Uttar Pradesh region where Sarethi is located although this will need further investigations. Vitreous artifacts of an uncertain nature were also analyzed to determine if they were connected to glass working at the site. These artifacts were certainly the results of the presence of sand close to a wood fire. Comparison of the results of Sarethi and Kopia, a site located 70 km away, indicates distinct glass patterns, suggesting their inclusion in different exchange networks despite their contemporaneity and proximity.