bead

Many thousands of glass beads have been excavated from Early British cemeteries of the fifth and sixth centuries AD. Amongst these beads is a type that was particularly common: decorated polychrome beads in red, yellow, and green glass in a variety of styles and combinations. Birte Brugmann, in her 2004 analysis of Saxon-period glass beads (Brugmann, 2004), named these beads “Traffic Light” (TL) beads...

Having been involved with experimental work with Viking Era beads for a decade and a half, I am always looking for more information on the topic. Ribe is the most significant beadmaking site of the Viking Era due to its archaeological remains and the museum’s active experimental, interpretative, and craft programs. New material focusing on this site is thus of particular interest, so I was very pleased to get a copy...

As a part of the ongoing exploration of Viking Era glass bead production, the Dark Ages Re-creation Company (DARC) team perform new pilot experiments on a regular basis. These experiments provide a preliminary understanding of a specific construct or research question, allowing us to judge the validity of further experiments, as well as what equipment or additional questions may be necessary as a part of...

10th EAC Leiden 2017
***Tens of thousands (Callmer, 1977, pp.12-32) of beads marking the rich graves of the Viking world indicate that the production of these beads is an area worthy of study. Evidence such as mandrels, crucibles, bead fragments, and semi-manufactures exist at Helgo, Birka, Paviken, Hedeby...