Archaeometric analyses of game counters from Pompeii R. ARLETTI 1 , A. CIARALLO 2 , S. QUARTIERI 3 , G. SABATINO 3 & G. VEZZALINI 1 1 Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Largo S. Eufemia, 19, I-41100 Modena, Italy (e-mail: rarletti@unimore.it) 2 Soprintendenza Archeologica di Pompei, via Villa dei Misteri, 2, I-80045 Pompei (NA), Italy 3 Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Salita Sperone, 31, I-98166 Messina, S. Agata, Italy Abstract: Among the glass finds of the Pompeii excavations, numerous objects of opaque and transparent glassy material of different colours were recovered and classified as game counters. The main aims of this work were to characterize these samples so as to identify the materials used as colorants and opacifying agents, and subsequently to deduce the tech- nology used for their production. The results of the chemical and mineralogical analyses obtained for game counters were also compared with those obtained for transparent and opaque glass artefacts. The chemical analyses were carried out, using only 300 mg of sample, by both wavelength-dispersive electron microprobe and X-ray fluorescence analy- sis. The crystalline phases present in the opaque glass were identified using both an auto- matic X-ray powder diffractometer and a Gandolfi camera. Secondary and backscattered electron images were obtained to study the distribution and morphology of the opacifier particles, and qualitative chemical analyses were obtained with an energy-dispersive system. All the game counters analysed can be classified as silica–soda–lime glass. Two calcium antimonates (CaSb 2 O 6 and Ca 2 Sb 2 O 7 ) were identified in the opaque white, green and blue glass, and Pb 2 Sb 2 O 7 particles were detected in the opaque yellow glass. Particles of metallic copper were detected by both energy-dispersive system and X-ray powder dif- fraction. These results support the hypothesis that transparent game counters were obtained by remelting of fragments of common transparent artefacts. In contrast, opaque finds were probably produced using the glassy paste employed in the production of mosaic tesserae. Roman glass manufacturing reached maximum output in the first to second centuries AD. In fact, Plinius, Martial, Juvenal and other Latin authors of these centuries spoke of abundant and growing glass production, as well as improvements in recycling processes. Pompeii, smothered by volcanic ash, represents a reliable example of the use and habits for this period; only in the Pompeii and Herculaneum exca- vations is it possible to observe in abundant detail the results of improvements in glass- blowing techniques in the first century on Roman tables. Most archaeologists have focused their attention on near eastern production centres, con- sidering Italian production to be of a lower stan- dard. However, several reasons suggest the presence of glass manufacturing in Campania in the first century AD. The region known as Campania felix was not only the residence of renowned philosophers and emperors, but also one of the most thriving and active regions of the Empire. Pozzuoli harbour represented the principal centre for the supply of foodstuffs and for the transit of goods shipped from Egypt and intended for Rome. Ships loaded with glass fragments and ingots also arrived, as mentioned by Cicerone in his writings. Pozzuoli seems to have been a famous glass production centre, as proven by the discovery of a glass furnace (Gialanella 1999). The presence of a glass pro- duction centre near Pozzuoli (or in general in Campania) and the great increase and spread of glass in this period and area is attested by several historical sources (Strabo, Geographia; Petronius, Satyricon). Among the glass finds of the Pompeii exca- vations, some hundreds of glassy paste objects were recovered and classified as ‘game coun- ters’. Plinius, in his Historia Naturalis, defined these items as the result of recycled glass remelt- ing. Only few of these are transparent; most are opaque in a wide range of colours. Hence, they seem to represent a broad pattern of glass From:MAGGETTI, M. & MESSIGA, B. (eds) 2006. Geomaterials in Cultural Heritage. Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 257, 175–186. 0305-8719/06/$15.00 # The Geological Society of London 2006.