Tag Archives: Archaeology

The Late Bronze Age in County Durham

One of the things that I really love about archaeology is that there is always something to learn. We might develop areas of specialty, but a single person could never learn it all (in fact, we could never learn it all because so much of archaeology is based on interpretations of evidence and our ideasContinue reading “The Late Bronze Age in County Durham”

Guest Post: Boudica the Redhead? The Difficulty in Translating Ancient Colour Words

By Jo Zalea Matias Boudica (d. AD 60 or 61), rebel queen of the Iceni (Image 1) is stereotypically depicted in the present day with a mane of long, fiery hair – one could even say that this is one of her defining features. This is true in both academically produced images in books toContinue reading “Guest Post: Boudica the Redhead? The Difficulty in Translating Ancient Colour Words”

Tools of the artefact specialist

When you get down to it, archaeology is a bit of a funny subject. We make use of specialised tools like magnetometers to do geophysical surveys and we use scientific instruments like XRF and LA-ICP-MS for materials analysis. Yet, the field archaeologist usually uses tools like the iconic trowel, shovels, mattocks and often a diggerContinue reading “Tools of the artefact specialist”

Researching Roman Dividers

For the last twelve months I was lucky enough to work as an Assistant Finds Liaison Officer in the Durham Portable Antiquities Scheme office. This was a part-time role supported by the Headley Trust for the first six months and I am grateful that it was extended for another 6 months for one day aContinue reading “Researching Roman Dividers”

Becoming a finds specialist

Freddie and I are artefact specialists and we both followed similar paths. I did a PhD that allowed me to study Iron Age glass beads and other artefacts, which allowed me to gain an in depth understanding about how dress was constructed during the Iron Age and Roman period. I did my research by readingContinue reading “Becoming a finds specialist”

Decoration and Colour of Iron Age Glass Beads from Britain

I recently attended the 20th Congress of the International Association for the History of Glass conference in Fribourg, Switzerland and presented a poster on my research. I have included the text and and some of the original images  (due to copyright restrictions, some images have been replaced, see below for alternatives).  Introduction Although a historyContinue reading “Decoration and Colour of Iron Age Glass Beads from Britain”

Glass Beads from a Late Iron Age Mirror Burial

It is extremely rare to find glass beads in British Iron Age burials. This is partially because there are so few burials of human remains that can be attributed to this period. It seems that the practice of burying the deceased in formal graves was not the dominant practice. Instead,     the archaeological record suggestsContinue reading “Glass Beads from a Late Iron Age Mirror Burial”

A Glass Bead from Caerau Hillfort, Cardiff, South Wales

A Glass Bead from Caerau Hillfort, Cardiff, South Wales An Iron Age glass bead was discovered in an enclosure ditch during the 2013 excavations at Caerau Hillfort. Although unique in design, it bears many similarities to the glass beads from Meare Lake Village in Somerset, which suggests an Iron Age date of 300 – 50Continue reading “A Glass Bead from Caerau Hillfort, Cardiff, South Wales”

An Exciting New Iron Age Glass Bead from London

A recently recorded glass bead from the Portable Antiquities Scheme provides valuable insight into how late prehistoric beads were used. LON-041951(Figure 1) is a large translucent blue bead with a number of opaque white spirals that sit on protrusions in the glass. These spirals alternate between single occurrences and pairs along the circumference of theContinue reading “An Exciting New Iron Age Glass Bead from London”