Made in Ireland? Provenance Studies on the Lead Glass Discovered at Rathfarnham Castle, Dublin

This work presents a study of 26 glass fragments that date from the end of the seventeenth century or the beginning of the eighteenth century. They were found during archaeological excavations at Rathfarnham Castle, Dublin, Ireland. Analyses were performed using p-PIXE, which allowed major, minor, and some trace elements to be determined. All the glass fragments proved to have high lead contents, but these differed sufficiently to allow different compositional groups to be established. Of the 26 fragments, 21 belonged to drinking glasses. Provenances are proposed for some of the glasses, taking into account both their physical characteristics and their composition, resulting in 8 being attributed to Irish production. For the remaining 18 fragments, it was not possible to distinguish between English or Irish manufacture. This represents the first attempt to identify distinct physical and chemical characteristics of Irish glass production in this important period as a contribution to understanding how lead crystal glassmaking spread and developed in England and Ireland.