File:Glass bead (FindID 475085).jpg

English: A glass bead of uncertain date. It is spherical in form, dark green in colour and with the remains of a separately cast iron bar or pin within a central circular aperture. The pin protrudes slightly from the base(?) of the bead and at the top(?) the glass spirals around the aperture probably as a result of the process of manufacture. It is decorated on its exterior surfaces with a central wavy band of interlaced white with alternating red/pink and blue glass that divides the bead into two hemispheres. The upper hemisphere has additional decoration comprising three evenly spaced oval shaped white glass motifs with applied central oval shaped dark blue glass. Similar decoration is apparent in the lower hemisphere but is circular in form and with applied lime green rather than blue glass. There is some minor damage to the bead surrounding the iron pin resultant from post-depositional damage. It measures 14.77mm in height, 14.14mm in diameter and 4.14g in weight.

The precise date of this bead remains uncertain, as does its function. The iron pin suggests it may have been attached to a larger object, perhaps as a decorative terminal to a pin or similar item. This might suggest a relatively recent date range, as might the combination of coloured glass, which is atypical for beads of Anglo-Saxon and earlier date.