LA-ICP-MS analysis of late bronze age blue glass beads from Gurob, Egypt

LA-ICP-MS analysis was undertaken on 37 blue glass beads excavated from a tomb in Gurob, in the Southern Fayum region of Egypt. The tomb was undisturbed, contained the remains of seven females and two children, and dated between the reigns of Amenhotep I (1525-1504 BC) and Tuthmosis III (1479-1425 BC). The glass beads are coloured by copper and the trace element concentrations are 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 (1479-1425 BC), the implication being that these beads represent luxury items transported into Egypt by high-ranking foreign women, possibly in connection with the harem palace.