Description

Summary: 1 circular glass bead decorated in dark red and black bands with the colour fusing and spiralling into the centre found with a primary cremation in Bell Barrow Wilsford G42, excavated by William Cunnington.

Research results

A Bronze Age glass bead found with a primary cremation in Bell Barrow Wilsford G42, excavated by William Cunnington. The bead has been formed by spiral winding, with at least 5 twists visible, and with the red colour down to copper in the glass. This is a very early example of true glass, as opposed to faience, in Britain. Other grave goods include fossil sponge bead, possibly part of a composite necklace, and an awl.

This bead was examined by Foulds (2014) as part of their PhD with the University of Durham, although it was not discussed in detail as the study focussed on the more numerous glass beads of the Iron Age. The author notes that although known, glass beads attracted very little attention from antiquarians, and the first major study was carried out by Margaret Guido (who later became joint president of the Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Society) and published in the 1970s. Foulds’ study focused on three main regions: Yorkshire, the South West of England and East Anglia. They found that glass beads were very uncommon, only present at 4.5% of the over 1,300 sides examined. They found that in the South West a variety of bead forms were present, including with a potential regional tendency towards spiral designs. They also note that beads appear to have been in use in the region throughout the Iron Age, with an example from an Early Iron Age context from the midden at East Chisenbury known, although it has since been lost.

This object was examined as part of the research published in Ritual in Early Bronze Age Grave Goods; a six-year research project carried out by Professor John Hunter and Dr Anne Woodward and funded by the Leverhulme Trust. Aided by a large number of other specialists the pair undertood an exhuastive study examining over 1000 objects held in 13 museums across the country in order to provide an extensive overview of burial practices in the period and identify regional practices.