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Description: | An Anglo-Saxon, biconical bead made from wire mesh. This appears to be attached to two gold loops, which frame the aperture through which, for instance, the thread of a necklace may have been fed.It is difficult to discern the exact construction of the object, as the wire is stuck to soil, which appears to fill the bead. Microscopic investigation showed, however, that the bead may have been composed of two layers: an inner, sheet gold layer and the outer wire mesh applied over it. The inner, sheet gold layer is only visible in one place and it is therefore impossible to say whether the bead really consisted of two shells.The bead is damaged at its widest circumference. Here, the wire mesh and the inner bead core - if it extends throughout the whole body of the bead - are cracked and the mesh is dented adjacent to the tear.Closely comparable finds are absent. A biconical gold bead made from closely wound wire is known from Rowington, Warwickshire (Treasure annual report 2001, no. 74, 2002 T95) and similar silver beads have been found, for instance, at Shudy Camps, Cambridgeshire, and Chamberlain's Barn, Bedfordshire. Beads such as these three are known from women's necklaces of the so-called 'Conversion period'. The most famous example is the necklace from Desborough, Northamptonshire, dated to the second half of the seventh century. Here, biconical gold wire beads are used to space cabochon pendants.The main difference between all these examples and the Wiltshire bead is that the wires of the latter are loosely spaced, not tightly wound. The question remains open whether the bead is constructed with a double shell, or whether perhaps originally the delicate gold wire mesh covered a bead made from organic material which has now decomposed.The suggested date range for the bead from Ogbourne St Andrew is based on the occurrence of biconical metal beads in general. Not all of these were made from wire, but they could also be fashioned from sheet metal.This find qualifies as Treasure under the Treasure Act of 1996.
Original Image | Publisher: | http://finds.org.uk | Source: | Portable Antiquities | Identifier: | http://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/r... | Go to resource |
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