Sujet de stage / Master 2 Internship

Today, 87 secondary glass workshops dating from the 1st to 6th centuries AD have been identified throughout the country - attested by the presence of one or more furnaces, or by characteristic manufacturing waste [1]. Reims is known to have been a major centre of glass production, with several glassmakers' workshops in operation throughout the Roman period, but particularly in the 3rd and 4th centuries AD. Glass produced in Reims furnaces is divided into two compositional groups: glass obtained by mixing discolored manganese glass, discolored antimony glass and un-discolored glass, and colorless glass obtained from glass discolored by adding pure antimony. In short, whether obtained by recycling or by adding oxides, the majority of glasses produced in the late Reims workshops are discolored. It is very difficult to categorize glass with the naked eye.

In collaboration with Aurore Louis from Inrap, we will be seeking to identify groups of colorless glasses by carrying out photoluminescence (PL) analyses at LSI. To this end, we will continue to optimize a method we have developed based on the detection of Sb3+, Mn2+ and Fe3+ ions by PL and a semi-quantification of these species.

We will also focus on Pb2+ and Cu+ ions (potential indicators of recycled glass). For better quantification of Pb2+ and Sb3+ ions, which have similar emission properties, we will develop and analyze soda-lime model glasses containing lead and antimony.

At the same time, we'll be looking at recycling and its impact on the coloring and chemical composition of glass. We will be synthesizing and remelting glass at LSI, in collaboration with glassmakers. In particular, we will seek to understand the impact of remelting cycles (duration, temperature, type of furnace) on iron and manganese redox and glass structure using various spectroscopic techniques (Raman, EPR and PL).
The ultimate aim is to classify Roman glass into different groups and gain a better understanding of the workings of the various workshops in Reims at the time.

The trainee should have a pronounced affinity for interdisciplinary work.

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References :

[1] Foy D, Nenna M-D (2001) Tout feu, tout sable:Mille ans de verre antique
dans le midi de la France. Musée d’Histoire de Marseille, Édisud, Aix-en-Provence
[2] Gliozzo E, Lepri B, Saguì L, Turbanti Memmi I (2015) Colourless glassfrom the Palatine and Esquiline hills in Rome (Italy). New data on antimony- and manganese-decoloured glass in the Roman period. Archaeol Anthropol Sci. doi:10.1007/s12520-015-0264-1