Brennan and Caoilfhionn's Ducal Challenge-Settmour Swamp's Baronial A&S Championship

I entered Settmour Swamp's Baronial A&S Championship and was honored to have been chosen as the Barony's A&S Champion. This is my documentation:

Trade and Commerce of Glass Beads in Early Medieval Ireland

Purpose

To reproduce and to study the history and social context of glass beads imported to Ireland and native Irish glass beads exported from Ireland as well as the possible trade and commerce of beads within Ireland.

Native and Imported Beads in Ireland

Glass beads have been found at numerous excavation sites across Ireland including settlement sites (i.e. a site where a group of people lived for a period of time), Royal sites, Ecclesiastical sites, and less often cemetery sites. Irish Archaeologist, Dr. Margaret (Mags) Mannion divided the beads into those imported into Ireland and those native to Ireland. She created a standardized classification system to compare these insular (Irish) beads in 18 different Classes. The imported Roman, Frankish, Anglo-Saxon, Viking, German, and Merovingian beads were then matched by Mannion to those found in excavations in their countries of origin. Imported beads are more prevalent at sites where other imported goods were found, especially sites with glass (e.g. vessels) and pottery (e.g. Lagore Crannóg and Garryduff and Garranes Ringforts). These imported beads indicate that Irish society connected with Anglo-Saxon England and Continental Europe. Mannion suspects that Irish bead makers may have incorporated their styles into their own bead making. Given the number of certain types of imported beads (i.e., Guido Schedule 2 xi and 6 xi) it is believed by Hencken (cited in Mannion, 2015, p. 30)  that the Irish bead makers may have then reproduced them.

Exported Irish Beads

In addition to glass beads having been imported into Ireland, Irish beads are also considered to have been exported to other countries. For instance a bead with a spiral decoration known to be native to Ireland (i.e., Mannion’s Class 9) was found at the 2001 Kaupang in Vesthold excavation (i.e. modern Norway). Nåsman (cited in Mannion, 2015, p.10) believes that the Reticella beads (i.e. decorated with blue and white cables and a red band) typically thought to be Scandinavian in origin such as those found at Ribe, Denmark may be of “Celtic insular origin”. Blue and white are the most prominent colors seen in native Irish beads. The Irish Class 10 Herringbone beads were also made with blue and

white cables. The first contact between the Scandinavians and the Irish is mid-9^th century and the earliest Scandinavian graves in Dublin are dated at 837 AD. The Irish were making a variety of glass beads well before the Vikings came to Ireland (Wallace 2008, p. 176). Though the Vikings introduced ideas, art and goods into Ireland, the Vikings also adopted items that were native to Ireland such as the Irish ringed pin and the plain stick pin which was developed later. The use of ringed pins has been found across other Scandinavian settlements.

Dating of Glass Beads

Where beads were found within excavation sites provide information on the dating of the beads and on the social context or significance of the beads to those who owned and wore them. Chemical analysis of beads gives information on the glass used to make the bead, but not the bead itself. Instead, radiocarbon dating of the materials in the context or location in which the bead was found indicates the age of the bead. In these excavation sites radiocarbon dating was done on samples of contexts such as charcoal, burnt material, oak timbers, organic material in the layer, E ware, bedding material, and floor layers. The Irish beads are dated from the 5th century to the 12th century, depending on the bead’s Class. The imported beads are dated primarily from the 5th century to the 9th century. Though some of the imported beads were dated over different periods such as the Melon bead, other bead types were dated to a more specific period.

In addition to glass beads being worn, there is evidence of glass working (i.e. making beads) that has been found at many sites across Ireland such as Deer Park Farms, Lagore Crannóg, Garranes Ringfort, Ballydoo, Movilla Abbey, Scotch Street, Cathedral Hill, and Dunmisk. It is likely that the glass bead makers at these workshops would have traded or sold the beads they made. Some excavation sites had glass bead making workshops as well as glass beads that were found in contexts where they would be have been worn and used, indicating that those who owned and wore the beads were not those who made the beads. Comparing the dates these sites were known to be active with dating of the glass working artifacts and the context dating of the glass beads provides a clearer connection between the glass bead makers and those who owned and wore the beads. The dating comparisons indicate that the glass beads were made, then traded or sold, and then worn within the same time period.

Social Significance and Meaning of Glass Beads

Beads from grave sites are thought to be what people wore more for special occasions, and the beads found in royal and settlement sites such as Lagore Crannóg and Deer Park Farms, respectively, are thought to show more about everyday life and dress. Most of the beads found in Ireland were found at royal and settlement sites instead of graves sites as the Christian Irish primarily utilized unaccompanied burials. Groups of beads have been found at settlement sites and at a few graves site the latter which supports the thought that these beads would have been strung and worn as necklaces. The various groupings also indicate that the number and type of beads strung was varied. Strings of beads can provide researchers with important information regarding the wearer of beads as well as the beads themselves. Analysis of the combinations of beads strung may show the ratio of insular to imported beads and may show whether beads from different periods were strung together; were earlier period beads still used along with “newer” beads? The strings of beads may also give information on the region the beads were used along with the age, gender and social status of the wearer. 

Glass beads were used as decoration on bronze and iron pins and brooches, and were both used functionally to fasten a garment like a brat or cloak and as objects of status. Beads and pins with beads were found in Royal sites often near known high-status jewelry which indicated they were valued and worn by people of high status such as a bronze pin with an annular blue bead found at Lagore Crannóg. These same ringed pins were those later adopted by the Vikings.

My reproductions of Irish and Imported Beads

I have reproduced some of the Imported beads found in Ireland: Guido Schedule 6viii beads: Melon beads, Guido Schedule 2v (a) beads, and Koch Type 49/50: Alternating stripes in spiral formation, as well as, the Class 10 Herringbone bead known in other typographies as a Reticella bead. I have also reproduced a ring pin with an annular blue bead which was based on a bronze ring pin found at the royal site Lagore Crannóg. I used modern wire for this first attempt. I intend to learn how to reproduce the ring pin using the more period technique to create the wrought metal. Versions of the class 10 bead and ring pin were exported and found outside of Ireland.

Modern vs Period Bead Making

The commercially made glass rods that I used to make my reproductions are made with the same components as those used by bead makers in early medieval Ireland and other countries: silica, soda (a flux to lower the melting point of the silica) and lime (calcium as a stabilizer to harden the glass and to keep the ingredients in their cohesive form). Silica comes from sand or flint (i.e. ground siliceous rocks). The more silica, the softer the glass. Soda (flux) was made from the ash of burned aquatic plants or potash which is from the ash of woodland plants. The addition of metals create different colors (e.g., cobalt- blues, iron- green). Glass makers use heat to form glass from its raw ingredients into glass which is then re-heated, shaped and manipulated into pre-shaped glass rods. Glass makers then sold or traded these glass rods to glass bead makers.

Evidence was found in Ireland, as in other countries, that the workshops of glass makers and those of the glass bead makers were typically in different locations. Henderson and Ivens (cited in Mannion, 2015, p. 12-13) indicated possible evidence of glass manufacturing in Dunmisk, County Armagh.  Glass is now produced chemically and therefore is more easily accessible. Modern glass manufacturers are also able to create a greater diversity of colors of glass and glass with special reflective, reactive, and color shifting properties.

There were different methods of working the glass in period. Glass was melted in a crucible and a metal rod was placed in the molten glass to pick it up and then wind it onto the mandrel (i.e., hot trailing). A rod of glass that was heated and then wound onto the mandrel was also used. This method of winding heated glass onto the mandrel is what I used. I used commercially produced stainless steel mandrels that are not unlike the iron rod mandrels used in period. I created stringers and twisted stringers that I then used to decorate my Koch 49/50 beads and the Class 10 Herringbone Beads. Stringers can also be used for other decorations such as drawing waves, zigzags, lines, spirals and dots on beads. Bead makes in period decorated their beads in the same manner.  Modern heat sources are torches with fuels, such as the Hot Head Torch and Mapp Gas that I use to recreate the beads. Period heat sources were stone or clay structures fired with wood or charcoal with the bellows to add extra oxygen to increase the temperature of the flame.

Experimental Bead Furnace

Mistress Elysabeth (Lissa) Underhill, Mistress Brunissende (Bruni) Dragonette, and I have created experimental versions of more period furnaces as a heat source for making beads. I have successfully made beads on our latest versions of the furnace.

References

Cummings, Keith, A History of Glassforming, University of Pennsylvania Press,     Chapters 1-4, 2002.

Dubin, Lois Sherr, The History of Beads: from 30,000 B.C. to the Present, Harry N.  Abrams, Inc., New York, 1987.

Hencken, H. (1950, November). Lagore Crannog: An Irish Royal Residence of the 7th to 10^th Centuries A.D. Proceeding of the Royal Irish Academy, 1-151.

Lynn, C., & McDowell, J. A. (2011). Deer Park Farms: The excavation of a raised rath in  the Glenarm Valley, Co. Antrim. Norwich: Stationery Office. Chapters 1, 18, 34 and 35

Mannion, Margaret. (2013). An Examination of Glass Beads from Early Medieval Ireland. (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from ARAN-Access to Research at NUI Galway. URI: http://aran.library.nuigalway.ie/xmlui/handle/10379/3724

Mannion, M. (2015). Glass beads from early medieval Ireland: Classification, dating, social          performance. Oxford: Archaeopress

Tettinger, Corina, Passing the Flame (A Beadmakers Guide to Detail and Design),   BonzoBucks & Books Publishing, 2002.

Wallace, P. 2008. Irish Archaeology and the Recognition of Ethnic Difference in Viking Dublin. In J. Habu, and C. Fawcett, and J. M. Matsunaga (eds), Evaluating Multiple Narratives: Beyond Nationalist, Colonialist and Imperialist Archaeologies. New York.

Pennic 2017- Teaching

Lissa and I taught a class on Anglo-Saxon and Irish Typographies and Beads. This is my section of the class.

GLASS BEADS IN EARLY MEDIEVAL IRELAND

Irish Beads vs. Anglo-Saxon, Scandinavian and European Beads:

Anglo-Saxon beads, along with Scandinavian and European beads have typically been found in grave sites, as it was the custom to be buried with their finest. However, Christianity was well established in Ireland during the period in which beads were made. The Christian Irish primarily utilized unaccompanied burials so beads were not typically found in graves. Instead the Irish beads were typically found in settlement sites (i.e. a site where a group of people lived for a period of time) or in Royal sites. However, these excavations generally did not yield large assemblages or groups of beads. In fact, the beads were originally thought to be lost or strays and insignificant. Older excavation reports typically did not contain many descriptions of the beads found. Without large assemblages from individual excavation sites, it made researching beads in Ireland difficult.

Mannion’s Typography:

While assessing the beads from different excavation sites across Ireland, Irish Archaeologist, Dr. Margaret (Mags) Mannion noted common features of color, form, and size amongst the individual beads. Dr. Mannion was then able to establish a unified classification system with standardized terminology to compare these beads by creating a combined corpus of 419 beads from excavation sites across northeastern, central, eastern and southern Ireland. She utilized similar methodology and protocols as those used by archaeologists researching beads from other areas such Anglo-Saxons thereby creating a comparable level of bead study across cultures.

Her standardized system classified beads by distinct classes of color and form. The Classification Table has the Irish beads divided into 2 main categories: plain and decorated beads. The plain beads are classified by their shapes (e.g., annular, globular, spherical) and color. The decorated beads are classified by their form (e.g. shape and size) and decoration. This uniform classification system provides a database of the beads with information on the locations in which they were found, the age of the beads, their production and their social performance. The decorative motifs on some of the insular beads (i.e. made in Ireland) reflect designs from early period Ireland such as spirals, horns and eyes that were found in Iron Age graves. (Appendix I)

Dr. Mannion also catalogued imported Roman, Frankish, Anglo-Saxon, Viking, German, and Merovingian beads that were found in excavation sites across Ireland. (Appendix I) These beads matched those found in excavations in their countries of origin. Also, more imported beads were found on sites where other imported goods such as pottery and glass had been found. These imported beads indicate that Irish society connected with Anglo-Saxon England and Continental Europe. Irish bead makers may have incorporated their styles into their own bead making, and may have reproduced imported beads given the quantity of certain types of imported beads that were found.

Irish excavation sites:

The beads found at these sites were used for the creation of Mannion’s Classification Table. The Crannógs were royal sites, the Ringforts were settlement sites, and the Ecclesiastical locations were religious sites. (Appendix II)

Deer Park Farms ringfort, Co. Antrim

Lagore Crannóg, Co. Meath

Clonmacnoise Ecclesiastical, Centre, Co. Offaly

Cahrlehillian Ecclesiastical Settlement, Co Kerry

Garranes ringfort, Co. Cork

Two Ring-Forts at Garryduff, Co. Cork

Ballinderry Crannóg No. 2, Co. Offaly

Ballydoo Ecclesiastical Enclosure, Co. Armagh

I reproduced several of Irish and imported beads found in a variety of excavation sites such as Lagore Crannóg, Deer Park Farms, Clonmacnoise Ecclesiastical Centre, Garranes Ringfort, and Garryduff 1 Ringfort. I have reproduced the Irish Segmented, Herringbone, Mulberry, Spiral Form, Annular and Globular beads, and the Imported Melon and Stripped, Spiral Beads.

Social Meaning and Dress:

Where beads were found within excavation sites provide information on the dating of the beads and on the social context or significance of the beads. Chemical analysis of beads gives information on the glass used to make the bead, but not the bead itself. Instead, radio carbon dating of the materials in the context or location in which the bead was found indicates the age of the bead. In these excavation sites radio carbon dating was done on samples of contexts such as charcoal, burnt material, oak timbers, organic material in the layer, E ware, bedding material, and floor layers. The beads found were dated from as early as 5^th century AD to as late as 12^th century AD.

Though most beads were not found in grave sites there were some. A recent excavation at Parknahown 5 Co. Laois, a settlement and cemetery site, revealed 3 beads in the clavicle of a woman. They are suspected to have been a necklace, and have been dated to 660-830 AD (i.e., O’Neill 2010, 251-260). Another recent excavation at Faughart Lower, Co. Louth found a group of beads in the neck area in a grave (Buckley and McConway 2010, 49-59). Beads from grave sites are thought to be what people wore more for special occasions than those they wore in everyday life.

The beads found in royal and settlement sites such as Lagore Crannóg and Deer Park Farms, respectively, are thought to show more about everyday life and dress. A grouping of 11 blue and white beads, which I recreated, were found in the bedding in one of the homestead structures at the Deer Park Farms ring fort in County Antrim and are dated to 660-780 A.D. Though there was no string present archaeologists surmise that the beads may have been strung as a necklace based on their proximity to one another. The groups of beads found in the aforementioned grave sites may also support the thought that these beads would have been strung and worn as necklaces (i.e., though in everyday life). The different groupings of beads also indicate that the number and type of beads strung was varied.

Strings of beads can provide researchers with important information regarding the wearer of beads as well as the beads themselves. Analysis of the combinations of beads strung may show the ratio of insular to imported beads and may show whether beads from different periods were strung together; were earlier period beads still used along with “newer” beads? The strings of beads may also give information on the region the beads were used along with the age, gender and social status of the wearer.

Glass beads were used as decoration on bronze and iron pins and brooches, and were used both functionally to fasten a garment like a brat or cloak and as objects of status. Beads and pins with beads were found in Royal sites often near jewelry of known high-status, which indicated they too were valued and worn by people of high status such as a bronze ring pin with an annular blue bead found at Lagore Crannóg, which I recreated using modern wire. A similar find from Moynagh Lough, Co. Meath has a radiocarbon dating of 7^th to 8^th century A.D.

Pin heads decorated with glass were found at several sites (e.g. Deer Park Farms, Movilla Abbey and Drummiller Rocks, Dromore, Co. Down). They may have been used in the hair or as part of a headdress. A glass topped pin from Deer Park Farms was dated mid-7^th century to late-10^th century A.D. I recreated a much simpler version using a modern pin. Beads were also found at Ecclesiastical Centers and were used for ecclesiastical ornaments and as decorative embellishments on Shrines.

Lastly, the color of the beads found across the Irish excavation sites may be of significance. Blue is a prominent color seen in Irish beads yet researchers can only presume the meaning or social context. The word “glas” in old Irish could be used for blue, green and grey. Early Irish literature from the 8^th century (Siewers 2005, 31) discusses the “Colors of Martyrdom” found in the Camdrai Homily: bánmartre (white martyrdom), dercmartre (red martyrdom), glasmatre (blue/green/grey martyrdom). One thought is that these Colors of Martyrdom may have influenced the color choices of bead makers. Another thought is that the blue may represent the water and sky of Ireland, green may represent grass and vegetation, and gray may represent the rocks and cliffs of Ireland.

References:

Hencken, H. (1950, November). Lagore Crannog: An Irish Royal Residence of the 7th to 10th Centuries A.D. [Abstract]. Proceeding of the Royal Irish Academy, 1-151.

Lynn, C., & McDowell, J. A. (2011). Deer Park Farms: The excavation of a raised rath in the Glenarm Valley, Co. Antrim. Norwich: Stationery Office. Chapters 1, 18, 34 and 35

Mannion, Margaret. (2013). An Examination of Glass Beads from Early MedievalIreland. (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from ARAN-Access to Research at NUI Galway. URI: http://aran.library.nuigalway.ie/xmlui/handle/10379/3724

Mannion, M. (2015). Glass beads from early medieval Ireland: Classification, dating, social performance. Oxford: Archaeopress.

Pennsic, 2017- A&S Display

A&S Display Documentation:

The Recreation and Study Early Medieval Irish Beads

Purpose:

To recreate the beads of the typography created by Dr. Margaret (Mags) Mannion of both the early Medieval (i.e., 5^th to 12^th centuries) Irish and imported beads found throughout Ireland. To recreate a necklace, ring pin and bead topped ring pin found at different archaeological sites. To study the history and social context of these beads and adornments.

Irish Beads vs. Anglo-Saxon, Scandinavian and European Beads:

Anglo-Saxon, Scandinavian and European beads have typically been found in grave sites, as it was the custom to be buried with their finest. However, the Christian Irish primarily utilized unaccompanied burials. The Irish beads were typically found in settlement sites (i.e. a site where a group of people lived for a period of time) or in Royal sites instead of grave sites. These excavations generally did not yield large assemblages of beads. In fact, some beads were originally thought to be lost or stray and older excavation reports typically did not contain much descriptions of the beads found. Without large assemblages from individual excavation sites, it made researching beads in Ireland difficult.

Mannion’s Typography:

While using standardized terminology and assessing the beads from different excavation sites across Ireland common features of color, form, and size were found amongst the individual beads. Irish Archaeologist, Dr. Margaret (Mags) Mannion was able to create a unified classification system to compare these beads by creating a combined corpus of 419 beads from excavation sites in northeastern, central, eastern and southern Ireland. She utilized similar methodology and protocols as those used by archaeologists researching beads from other areas such Anglo-Saxon thereby creating a comparable level of bead study.

Her standardized system classified beads by distinct classes of color and form. The Classification Table has the Irish beads divided into 2 main categories: plain and decorated beads. The plain beads are classified by their shapes (e.g., annular, globular, spherical) and color. The decorated beads are classified by their form (e.g. shape and size) and decoration. The uniform classification system provides a database of the beads with information on the locations they were found, the age of the beads, their production and their social performance. The decorative motifs on some of the insular beads (i.e. made in Ireland) reflect designs from early period Ireland such as spirals, horns and eyes that were found in Iron Age graves.

Dr. Mannion also catalogued imported Roman, Frankish, Anglo-Saxon, Viking, German, and Merovingian beads that were found in excavation sites across Ireland. These beads matched those found in excavations in their countries of origin. Also, more imported beads were found on sites where other imported goods such as pottery and glass had been found. The imported beads indicate that Irish society connected with Anglo-Saxon England and Continental Europe. Irish bead makers may have incorporated their styles into their own bead making, and may have reproduced imported beads given the quantity of certain types of imported beads.

Irish excavation sites:

The beads found at these sites were used for the creation of Mannion’s Classification Table. The Crannógs were royal sites, the Ringforts were settlement sites, and the Ecclesiastical locations were religious sites.

Deer Park Farms ringfort, Co. Antrim

Lagore Crannóg, Co. Meath

Clonmacnoise Ecclesiastical, Centre, Co. Offaly

Cahrlehillian Ecclesiastical Settlement, Co Kerry

Garranes ringfort, Co. Cork

Two Ring-Forts at Garryduff, Co. Cork

Ballinderry Crannóg No. 2, Co. Offaly

Ballydoo Ecclesiastical Enclosure, Co. Armagh

Social Meaning and Dress:

Where beads were found within excavation sites provide information on the dating of the beads and on the social context or significance of the beads. Chemical analysis of beads gives information on the glass used to make the bead, but not the bead itself. Instead, radio carbon dating of the materials in the context or location in which the bead was found indicates the age of the bead. In these excavation sites radio carbon dating was done on samples of contexts such as charcoal, burnt material, oak timbers, organic material in the layer, E ware, bedding material, and floor layers.

Though most beads were not found in grave sites there were some. A recent excavation at Parknahown 5 Co. Laois, a settlement and cemetery site, revealed 3 beads in the clavicle of a woman. They are suspected to have been a necklace, and have been dated to 660-830 AD (i.e., O’Neill 2010, 251-260). Another recent excavation at Faughart Lower, Co. Louth found a group of beads in the neck area in a grave (Buckley and McConway 2010, 49-59). Beads from grave sites are thought to be what people wore more for special occasions than those they wore in everyday life.

The beads found in royal and settlement sites such as Lagore Crannóg and Deer Park Farms, respectively, are thought to show more about everyday life and dress. A grouping of 11 blue and white beads were found in the bedding in one of the homestead structures at the Deer Park Farms ring fort in County Antrim and are dated to 660-780 A.D. Though there was no string present archaeologists surmise that the beads may have been strung as a necklace based on their proximity to one another. The groups of beads found in the aforementioned grave sites may also support the thought that these beads would have been strung and worn as necklaces (i.e., though in everyday life). The various groupings also indicate that the number and type of beads strung was varied.

Strings of beads can provide researchers with important information regarding the wearer of beads as well as the beads themselves. Analysis of the combinations of beads strung may show the ratio of insular to imported beads and may show whether beads from different periods were strung together; were earlier period beads still used along with “newer” beads? The strings of beads may also give information on the region the beads were used along with the age, gender and social status of the wearer.

Glass beads were used as decoration on bronze and iron pins and brooches, and both used functionally to fasten a garment like a brat or cloak and as objects of status. Beads and pins with beads were found in Royal sites often near known high-status jewelry which indicated they were valued and worn by people of high status such as a bronze pin with an annular blue bead found at Lagore Crannóg. A similar find from Moynagh Lough, Co. Meath has a radiocarbon dating of 7^th to 8^th century A.D.

Pin heads decorated with glass were found at several sites (e.g. Deer Park Farms, Movilla Abbey and Drummiller Rocks, Dromore, Co. Down). They may have been used in the hair or as part of a headdress. A glass topped pin from Deer Park Farms was dated mid-7^th century to late-10^th century A.D. Beads were also found at Ecclesiastical Centers and were used for ecclesiastical ornaments and as decorative embellishments on Shrines.

Blue is a prominent color seen in Irish beads yet researchers can only presume the meaning or social context. The word “glas” in old Irish could be used for blue, green and grey. Early Irish literature from the 8^th century (Siewers 2005, 31) discusses the “Colors of Martyrdom” found in the Camdrai Homily: bánmartre (white martyrdom), dercmartre (red martyrdom), glasmatre (blue/green/grey martyrdom). One thought is that these Colors of Martyrdom may have influenced the color choices of bead makers. Another thought is that the blue may represent the water and sky of Ireland, green may represent grass and vegetation, and gray may represent the rocks and cliffs of Ireland.

Making Glass Beads-Modern vs. Period:

In addition to finding glass beads, excavators also found indications that glass working (i.e. making the beads) was also done at some of the sites (e.g., crucibles, failed beads, glass rods and glass debris). This evidence was found at site such as Scotch Street and Dunmisk in Co. Armagh (dated to late 6^th to early 9^th centuries) and Lagore Crannóg, Garranes, and Ballydoo (dated to 7^th century).

Glass in early medieval Ireland as well as other countries had the same components as the types of glass used by bead makers today: silica, soda (a flux to lower the melting point of the silica) and lime (calcium as a stabilizer to harden the glass and to keep the ingredients in their cohesive form). Silica comes from sand or flint (i.e. ground siliceous rocks). The more silica, the softer the glass. Soda (flux) was made from the ash of burned aquatic plants or potash which is from the ash of woodland plants. The addition of extra ingredients, either accidentally or purposefully, changes the quality of the glass, and the addition of metals create different colors (e.g., cobalt- blues, iron- green).Glass is now produced chemically and therefore is more easily accessible. Modern glass manufacturers are also able to create a greater diversity of colors of glass and more sophisticated types of glass such as Double Helix glass rods.

Heat is needed to form glass from its raw ingredients. It is then used to re-heat, shape and manipulate pre-shaped glass rods into glass beads. Glass makers then sold or traded these glass rods to glass bead makers. Evidence was found in Ireland, as well as other countries, that the workshops of glass makers and those of the glass bead makers were in different locations.

There were different methods of working the glass in period.  Glass was melted in a crucible and a metal rod was placed in the molten glass to pick it up and then wind it onto the mandrel (i.e., hot trailing). A rod of glass that was heated and then wound onto the mandrel was also used. This method of winding heated glass onto the mandrel is what we use today.

Modern heat sources are torches with fuels, such as the Hot Head Torch and Map Gas that I use to recreate the beads. I use commercially produced stainless steel mandrels that are not unlike the iron rod mandrels used in period. Period heat sources were stone or clay structures fired with wood or charcoal with the bellows to add extra oxygen to increase the temperature of the flame. Mistress Elysabeth (Lissa) Underhill, Mistress Brunissende (Bruni) Dragonette, and I have created experimental versions of more period furnaces as a heat source for making beads. I have successfully made beads on our latest versions of the furnace.

My Reproductions:

The collection of beads I have made are reproductions of Irish and imported beads found in a variety of excavation sites such as Lagore Crannóg, Deer Park Farms, Clonmacnoise Ecclesiastical Centre, Garranes Ringfort, and Garryduff 1 Ringfort. Irish beads are dated from 5^th century to 10^th century A.D. with the Mulberry bead as late as the 12^th century A.D. The beads are Class 1: Segmented, Class 10: Herringbone decorated beads, Class 12: Mulberry Beads, Class 15: Globular, Class 16: Annular, Guido Schedule 6viii beads: Melon beads, Guido Schedule 2v (a) beads, and Koch Type 49/50: Alternating stripes in spiral formation. As my skills as a bead maker improve and I learn more advance techniques I will be able to reproduce more beads from Mannion’s typography.

I also reproduced the collection of 11 beads found in the bedding at the Deer Park Farms settlement site. The bronze pin with an annular blue bead was reproduced based on a bronze ring pin found at the royal site Lagore Crannóg. I used modern wire for this first attempt. I intend to learn how to reproduce the ring pin using the more period technique to create the wrought metal. The glass topped pins are a much smaller version of what was found at Deer Park Farms and are made on modern pins. I also intend to reproduce these with metal pins that I create using the period technique similar to the ring pin.

References:

Cummings, Keith, A History of Glassforming, University of Pennsylvania Press, Chapters 1-4

Dubin, Lois Sherr, The History of Beads: from 30,000 B.C. to the Present, Harry N. Abrams, Inc., New York

Hencken, H. (1950, November). Lagore Crannog: An Irish Royal Residence of the 7th to 10th Centuries A.D. [Abstract]. Proceeding of the Royal Irish Academy, 1-151.

Lynn, C., & McDowell, J. A. (2011). Deer Park Farms: The excavation of a raised rath in the Glenarm Valley, Co. Antrim. Norwich: Stationery Office. Chapters 1, 18, 34 and 35

Mannion, Margaret. (2013). An Examination of Glass Beads from Early Medieval Ireland. (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from ARAN-Access to Research at NUI Galway. URI: http://aran.library.nuigalway.ie/xmlui/handle/10379/3724

Mannion, M. (2015). Glass beads from early medieval Ireland: Classification, dating, social performance. Oxford: Archaeopress

Tettinger, Corina, Passing the Flame (A Beadmakers Guide to Detail and Design), BonzoBucks & Books Publishing, 2002 

The History of Glass Beads

I taught a class about glass bead making at Bog University at Pennsic in 2016. This the talk I gave about the history of beads:

EARLY BEADS:

The first beads to be discovered were dated to about 38,000 B.C.E., which is about the time that the Homo sapiens were replacing the Neanderthals. They were made from animal teeth and bones and were worn as pendants. Early humans also used ivory and shells to make beads, and used naturally occurring volcanic glass or obsidian to make tools, weapons and jewelry. Early beads were worn as displays of hunting prowess, for spiritual expression and protection, and as a means of personal identity. Beads also began to be found as grave offerings.

MAN-MADE BEADS: EGYPTIAN, PHONECIAN & ISLAMIC BEADS:

Man-made glass and glass beads began in Mesopotamia around 3,000 B.C.E. and then spread to Egypt. The Egyptian glass beads were as a treasured as precious stones and were primarily used symbolically. As the Egyptian civilization was collapsing and the military conquests of the Mediterranean area were growing, glass objects began to be produced for trade and commerce instead of just for the use of the elite. The Phoenicians were known for the glass making skills learned from other cultures as well as those they developed themselves. After the founding of Islam and with the development of the Muslim cultures, Islamic glass working flourished from until to 1400 C.E. Though they utilized the techniques found in Egypt and the Roman Empire, the Islamic artisans also integrated new styles and techniques into their bead making. The international trade of Islamic merchants enabled connections between Islamic artisans and those in other areas such as Scandinavia, India and China.

RISE AND FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE:

As the Roman rule began, glassmaking spread to areas such as Spain, France and Rhineland. As the Romans traveled trade followed. As different cultures became more advanced and connected, the level of craft skills and the spread of skills between cultures grew. As the Roman Empire fell, glass working became more regional. During the Migration Period in Europe (i.e. from the 4^th -8^th centuries) cultures such as the Franks, Merovingians, and Anglo-Saxons were developing their own styles. Towards the end of the Migration Period, around 800 to 1000 C.E., there was glass bead making in Viking towns such as Ribe and Birka.  The Vikings both brought back beads from their travels to areas such as Northern and Eastern Europe. As the Vikings often settled in areas where they traded, beads were found in those locations too.

RISE OF CHRISTIANITY:

The development of the Christian era meant that people were no longer burying with their goods and jewelry was inhibited by the Church as it was considered to be a Pagan practice. Bead making diminished until the 15^th century when it reappeared and flourished in Venice. From the Renaissance to the 20^th Century, the European glass bead industry grew as did the development of manufacturing techniques, the volume of bead production and the variety of beads produced. Though there was bead making in other areas, the glass making in Venice was unmatched.

COMPONENTS OF GLASS:

Ancient glass had the same components as the types of glass used by bead makers today: silica, soda (a flux to lower the melting point of the silica) and lime (calcium as a stabilizer to harden the glass and to keep the ingredients in their cohesive form). Silica comes from sand or flint (i.e. ground siliceous rocks). The more silica, the softer the glass. Soda (flux) was made from the ash of burned aquatic plants or potash which is from the ash of woodland plants. It is now produced chemically and therefore is more easily accessible. The addition of extra ingredients, either accidental or purposeful, change the quality of the glass. The addition of metals created different colors (e.g., cobalt- blues, iron- green).

HEAT SOURCES:

Heat is needed to form glass from its raw ingredients. It is then used to re-heat, shape and manipulate pre-shaped glass rods. In the ancient world the pre-shaped forms of glass, such as rods or a lump of glass were sold or traded to glass workers’ workshops all over.  Period heat sources were stone or clay structures fired with wood or charcoal with the bellows to add extra oxygen to increase the temperature of the flame. The Venetians used oil lamps which is where the term lamp working came from. Today modern heat sources of torches with fuels are used.

There were different methods of working the glass in period.  Glass was melted in a crucible and a metal rod was placed in the molten glass to pick it up and then wind it onto the mandrel (i.e., hot trailing). A rod of glass that was heated and then wound onto the mandrel was also used. This method of winding heated glass onto the mandrel is what we use today, but with more widely available, diverse, and sophisticated glass options.

CITATIONS:

Cummings, Keith, A History of Glassforming, University of Pennsylvania Press, Chapters 1-4

Dubin, Lois Sherr, The History of Beads: from 30,000 B.C. to the Present, Harry N. Abrams, Inc., New York.

Tettinger, Corina, Passing the Flame (A Beadmakers Guide to Detail and Design), BonzoBucks & Books Publishing, 2002