Wine Bottles From Lisbon: Archaeometric Studies Of Two Archaeological Sites Dated From The 17th To The 19th Century

Abstract

Two sets of wine bottles dated between the end of the 17th and the 19th centuries were characterized by means of μ-PIXE (major and minor elements) and LA–ICP–MS (trace and REE elements). The fragmented wine bottles were recovered from two archaeological contexts in Lisbon and reach a total of 79 fragments. One of the archaeological bottle sets comes from a house structure that collapsed during the major earthquake in 1755, providing a precise terminus ante quem. The second set comes from the exploratory archaeological intervention performed in Rua do Arsenal, where the Côrte-Real Palace (built in the 16th century), was discovered. From this site, posterior contexts dated up to the 19th century were considered. This systematic study allowed the glass to be identified as high-lime, low-alkali (HLLA) for all the considered chronologies. However, the 19th-century bottles have a different HLLA composition, suggesting the use of synthetic soda. Comparison with data from literature showed some similarity with English, Belgium and French reported compositions. This is the first systematic attempt to characterize the composition of glass wine bottles circulating in Portugal, giving new insights into their probable provenances, and on the exchange between Portugal and its trading allies.

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