File:Roman melon bead (FindID 78019) (cropped).jpg

English: A fragment of a faience melon bead, with about 50% surviving. There are nine slightly diagonal grooves. Very pale blue/grey, with slight traces of pale blue glaze in some of the grooves and on the internal surface. It weighs 2.12g and is 14mm high, with a diameter of 21mm. The diameter of the perforation is 6.1mm.

This type of bead was in use during the 1st and 2nd centuries, being most common in the 1st century, particularly on military sites. Early finds come from Neronian contexts at Camulodunum (Harden 1947, 307 no. 3). Faience melon beads were produced in a wide range of sizes and have wide perforations and convex profile with vertical or slightly diagonal grooves scored into the outside surface. They were produced in a wide range of blue shades ranging from turquoise to bright blue with a buff/greyish core. It is likely that the smaller beads were used in a similar manner to other beads as a form of personal adornment, although the larger faience and glass melon beads may have been impractical to wear, particularly around the neck. Other examples can be seen in Crummy 1983, figure 32.