**1. Introduction**

The study of objects belonging to our material culture cannot ignore a persevering and constructive dialogue between different fields of knowledge. Only a well-integrated, transdisciplinary approach can pave the way for an in-depth understanding of historical, cultural, socioeconomic, and technological issues for which the objects of our past are silent witnesses.

Although in the last few decades there has been an increasing tendency towards combined archaeological and archaeometric studies [1,2], this has not always resulted in long-lasting cooperation among disciplines. On the one hand, archaeology often turns to archeometry to answer open questions mainly related to the provenance and dating of the objects or as a scientific support to confirm previously formulated hypotheses. On the other hand, archaeometric studies leave a space that is not always adequate for archaeological and/or historiographic considerations, sometimes leading to a discussion of extreme detail of a single analytical data which, however, is detached from a broader contextualisation. The above considerations are also valid for archaeological glass, a category whose applied research is still affected by a subdivision of roles based on the specific knowledge in a particular field as well as by a lack of systematic integration of data across disciplines. All this to the detriment of a real joint research action, which is fundamental for understanding objects from the past beyond their material components and as vectors of culture. More specifically, though a noticeable broadening of the glass research community has occurred in the last decades, the need to move from a traditional data gathering to a more interpretative phase has been highlighted [3]. Research should guide toward a better understanding of the reasons and practices behind the compositional and technical developments of the ancient glass industry, in the attempt to deepen the current understanding of glass production,

**Citation:** Fiorentino, S.; Chinni, T.; Vandini, M. Materials Inspiring Methodology: Reflecting on the Potential of Transdisciplinary Approaches to the Study of Archaeological Glass. *Appl. Sci.* **2021**, *11*, 8049. https://doi.org/10.3390/ app11178049

Academic Editor: Asterios Bakolas

Received: 21 July 2021 Accepted: 27 August 2021 Published: 30 August 2021

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trade, and technologies and to contextualise this specific material within the sociocultural and economic framework of past societies. The discernment of such a multifaceted scenario cannot ignore a synergistic and complementary approach between different disciplines. A sound integration of analytical data into archaeological and, by extension, anthropological research, is the keystone that can lead to a more comprehensive understanding of ancient glass industries and related technological aspects.

The establishment of an enduring transdisciplinary approach could overcome several critical issues affecting applied research on material culture, with specific reference to glass production. In the first place, one should be cautious in comparing archaeometric data relating to different categories of objects (i.e., tableware with mosaic tesserae and/or ornaments), as sociocultural and economic reasons behind the manufacture of these objects could lead to erroneous conclusions. Comparing objects destined for different uses, albeit coming from the same context, can mislead the interpretation of archaeometric data and lead to hypotheses that are not sustainable from an archaeological perspective. Hence, there is a need to overcome the traditional method of comparison, mainly based on associating data pertinent to types of glass objects very different from each other. Another critical issue to pay particular attention to is the number of finds to be analysed: obtaining conspicuous datasets should not be the key criterion when selecting the finds. If the analysed fragments are not "diagnostic", meaning they are not attributable to distinctive typologies with verified chronology, the achieved dataset, though numerically consistent, might not provide useful information. Prior to the analytical phase, it is of primary importance to understand the context where the finds were unearthed, as well as the related sociocultural aspects.

As a consequence, an actual co-participatory approach between disciplines related to different research fields is the only tool capable of overcoming the limits that, by its intrinsic nature, each discipline considered individually has. Without prejudice to the need for everyone to work in their own specific field of study, it is necessary to overcome the still feebly implemented reading and synergistic discussion of the results that emerge from the various disciplinary areas involved.

Through an examination of selected previously studied assemblages from different types of contexts, this paper aims to reflect on the potentialities stemming from a transdisciplinary approach applied to the study of archaeological glass. Whatever the research field, ancient glasses are strongly heterogeneous materials: from a historical-archaeological perspective, glass assemblages from excavated contexts comprise different objects intended for different uses (i.e., glassware, ornaments, and architectural decorations), often made in different places and workshops, using different tools and techniques. Should these elements not be properly taken into consideration, data obtained by archaeometric analyses could incur the risk of being uninformative. Framed in a broader context and without any intent to criticise previous research, this paper fosters the promotion of a synergistic approach in the study of archaeological glass, setting the basis for an enduring integration of different disciplines.
