Scientific Analysis of Two Compound Eye Beads Unearthed in Hejia Village, Zhouling

Abstract Glass compound eye beads is the exquisite embodiment of the glass making technology of ancient craftsmen, and is a example of the cultural exchange between China and the West in the Warring States Period. In the existing scientific research of compound eye beads, only the chemical element composition and fabtication process are discussed, and the weathering mechanism of this kind of objects are rarely discussed. In this study, two dots & mesh beads with seriously weathered surfaces were unearthed in Hejia village, Zhouling. Micromorphology, X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (XRF) and microscopic laser Raman spectroscopy were used for non-destructive testing to analyze them. The results show that the two compound eye beads belong to the lead-barium silicate system. The substrate of the beads is glassy, the yellow weathered layer in is cerussite, the white weathered layer is barium sulfate and the blue weathered layer is walstromite. It is the first time that the walstromite has been found in the weathered layer of ancient glass. This study focused on the analysis of weathered layers of two compound eye beads, and inferred about their weathering mechanism. In order to provide data support for the subsequent protection of glass compound eye beads, it has certain scientific value.