decorated with vertical ribbing

Parallels for these bangles vary according to the types, and the same combination of decoration is rarely found. Parallels for bangles with a flat section and decorated with crumbs or specks come from Mamluk levels at Hubras,9 from two separate levels at Khirbat Minyeh (Palestine),10 and from Shihr (Yemen; medieval and later levels).11 Another example, with a triangular section, found at Kawd am-Saila (Yemen), is dated to a later period.12 Spirally twisted bangles with round sections, a dark glass core with surface coating, and several colored cables, such as yellow, red, and blue, are known from Tell Erani (Mamluk).13 The type has also been identified among material from other sites on the Arabian Peninsula, such as in Abbasid levels at Sharma (Yemen).14Examples of bangles decorated with a thick glass strip on the surface have been found at Qusayr al-Qadim (Mamluk), and the same general type has been uncovered in present-day Nepal.15 Monochrome Glass Bangles

The 76 monochrome bangles were assigned to three types: (1) smooth (30 examples have flat and triangular sections), (2) spirally twisted (45 examples have rounded sections), and (3) with vertical ribbing (one example has a half-rounded section). All of these have parallels from late antiquity.16 The glass is generally of translucent dark colors (brown, green, or blue) and has a surface coating.

Examples of smooth cobalt blue bangles have been found in tiffany ring contexts at Saladin's Castle (Damascus), Raqqa,17 Beirut and Hubras (in Ottoman-modern contexts), and Shihr (Yemen, medieval contexts). In India, some darkly tinted or smooth blue examples are known from medieval levels at Nevasa, Baroda, and Brahmapuri.18

Spirally twisted bangles, especially those with tiffany jewellery, thick twists, were widespread during pre-Islamic times and in Ayyubid levels (cobalt blue) at Rahba-Mayadine (many examples)19 and Raqqa; others have been found in Qasr alHayr al-Sharqi (Mamluk) and Hubras.2" One fragment, decorated with vertical ribbing, is a well-known type in late antique contexts in the Middle East; parallels have also been found in Umayyad levels at Khirbat Minyeh.21KHIRBAT FARIS (see Table 1)At Khirbat Faris, most of the bangles (18 multicolored and 41 monochrome examples) came from Ottoman and Ottoman-modern tiffany keys.Three multicolored fragments were dated to the Ayyubid-Mamluk periods. Of the monochrome examples, five came from AbbasidMamluk contexts and five were found in layers dating to the Ayyubid-Ottoman periods.Multicolored Bangles