LA‐ICP‐MS analysis of Late Bronze Age blue glass beads from Gurob, Egypt

Abstract

Laser ablation‐inductively coupled plasma‐mass spectrometry (LA‐ICP‐MS) analysis was undertaken on 37 blue glass beads excavated from a tomb in the southern Faiyum region of northern Egypt. The tomb was undisturbed, contained the remains of seven females and two children, and dated between the reigns of Amenhotep I (1525–1504 bce) and Tuthmosis III (1479–1425 bce). The glass beads were coloured by copper and the trace element concentrations were compositionally consistent with glasses from Mesopotamia rather than from Egypt. Therefore, these glass beads represent a rare example of Mesopotamian glass to be discovered in Egypt, in addition to being some of the earliest glass found. Gurob is known to have been the site of a ‘harem palace' established in the reign of Tuthmosis III, the implication being that these beads represent luxury items transported to Egypt by high‐ranking foreign women, possibly in connection with the harem palace.