Chemical Analysis and Archaeological Context

The initial dataset for analysis consisted of 373 glass samples from Nubia held by the Manchester Museum, Petrie Museum (London), British Museum, Liverpool World Museum, National Museums Scotland (Edinburgh), and Garstang Museum (Liverpool). The initial selection criteria for objects to be sampled was that they have a secure Nubian provenance (defined here as the site the object was recovered from), were dated to the Meroitic Period (c. 350 BC-AD 350), and were either fragmentary, damaged, or extant in numerous examples. It was predominantly beads that were selected because of the large quantities present in the archaeological record. Some broken vessel