Published online by Cambridge University Press: 01 May 2009
Seven beads were found, details of which are given below:—
Bead No. 1.—Pale cobalt-coloured annular glass bead. Weight, 5·21 g.; sp. gr., 2·412. There are two varieties of this bead which are very similar: one is of the La Tene period, and the other is Saxon. There has been a small difference of specific gravity in practically all the specimens I have examined, but it is so slight that I do not think it is safe to trust as a means of dating them. At the same time it has been fairly consistent, as in twelve specimens from different sites dated to the early period in Britain, France, and the Mediterranean the specific gravity has been below 2·46, and the only other early specimen I have tested was 2·485. On the other hand, all the beads that I have tested which I know to be Saxon have a specific gravity of 2·485 or over. I have, however, recently seen a bead from Lincolnshire with the same specific gravity as this No. 1, which, I think, is probably Saxon. Blue annular Saxon beads of this type, but usually smaller, are more common in the eastern counties than in any other part of England.