The find of a glass lump from Kiev

The article is devoted to the publication and investigation of a rare find made of glass. A lump of raw glass designed for exchange was found in Kiev, when rescue-archaeology work was being carried out in the area of the present-day Independence Square in levels dating from the first half of the 12 th century. It is presumed that the glass lump had been intended for the fashioning of small ornaments, mosaic tesserae, or for making glaze. The chemical composition of the glass was investigated by the method of optical-emission spectrography. The results made it possible to classify the glass as belonging to the class of non-alkaline lead glass (Pb-Si), which is usually associated with production centres in Byzantium, Western Europe and medieval Rus. However, the presence in the glass of an alkaline admixture in the form of potassium oxide (1,4 %) suggests that it had originated from medieval Rus. Special features of this glass object include its decoration with a plant pattern in the form of winding tendrils with leaves and flowers which was probably obtained by chance when some object or other (a reel of wire for example) happened to be impressed on the surface of the lump.