Of Beads and Burials: A Microwear and Experimental Study of Early Medieval Glass and Amber Beads from the Merovingian Site of Lent-Lentseveld

Abstract

Across Europe, hundreds of thousands of beads have been found in graves dating to the early medieval Merovingian period of 400-750 AD. Whilst recent studies have used microwear analysis to investigate amber beads, there are no known experimental microwear studies examining glass beads. This study proposes a methodological approach using experimental archaeology to explore the limits of microwear analysis for glass beads. This study examines two strings of beads from Lent-Lentseveld in the Netherlands. As the first experimental programme focused on the replica of use-wear on glass beads, this study includes different setups to test for use-wear development in different conditions. Experiments include a tumbling, string, and handling experiment, as well as the examination of Iron-Age re-enactment beads. Microwear analysis is conducted on 116 beads using a stereomicroscope, with magnifications of up to 160x. Analysis has shown that 100 or 150 hours is not enough for certain traces to develop on the experimental beads, with clear traces forming only from the string experiment. By comparing known traces from the experimental beads with the re-enactment beads and then with the archaeological beads, this study provides a framework for examining microwear traces on archaeological beads, particularly glass. This thesis presents the hypothesised biographies of these beads, with some beads displaying traces indicating higher degrees of wear and other beads displaying low to minimal traces of wear. Some beads are also interpreted as being acquired for the individual, whilst other beads are interpreted as having been heirlooms.