MEFRM 120/2 2008, p. 355-375.

When metal meets beads

Technological study of early medieval metal foil beads
from Albania *
Susanne G REIFF and Etleva N ALLBANI

Among the huge amounts of mediaeval glass

beads there is a distinct group that judging from
shape and surface structure appears to be different
from the majority of the typical wound beads. This
group produced by physical incorporation of metal
foil is also abundant in Albanian tombs from late
6th to the 9th centuries. This study focuses on metal
foil beads from the site of Bukl in Albania (fig. 1
and 2) presenting results from technological
investigations by chemical analysis and optical
microscopy. Details on similar finds reviewed and
discussed though comparable investigations are
only sporadic despite the longevity of this bead
type. 15 years ago, Maud Spear1 summarized her
review of gold-glass beads in a way that :
sufficiently well-documented source material is
scarce, not much has changed with respect to
that.
Beads in general represent an important
source material for the investigation of
intercultural relations. The aim of this report is to
offer detailed material information about Albanian
metal-foil beads which can be compared to beads
dating to the same period from other regions and/
or comparable beads from other periods. By
collecting data about chemical composition and
their composite structure it should be possible to
elucidate innovations and traditions as well as
trade routes that do not only apply to the question

*. We are grateful to Dipl.-Ing. Sonngard Hartmann for the

analytical work and to Dr. Jrg Drauschke for providing
literature about metal foil beads from Merovingian tombs.
Without the generous consent by Prof. Dr. Muzafer Korkuti
and Prof. Dr. Shpresa Gjongecaj from the Albanian Institute
of Archaeology to bring the Bukl material to Germany, this
study would not have been possible. This study makes part

Fig. 1 Map of Albania indicating the major early medieval archaeological

sites and cemeteries situated in the northern part of the country
(E. Nallbani).

of a research programme on the Albanian material, granted

by both of the foundations, Foundations, Maison des
Sciences de lHomme (Paris) and Fritz Thyssen (Cologne).
1. M. Spear, Gold-glass beads : a review of the evidence, in Beads,
Journal of the Society of bead researchers, 5, 1993, p. 9-25, spec.
p. 9.

Susanne Greiff, Rmisch-Germanisches Zentralmuseum, Mayence (Allemagne), greiff@rgzm.de

Etleva Nallbani, cole franaise de Rome, etleva.nallbani@efrome.it

356

When metal meets beads

Susanne G REIFF and Etleva N ALLBANI

beads. The present text is based upon a paper

delivered during a meeting that took place in 2008
in Albania 2, with some recent analytical data
added.
Beside segmented transparent metal foil beads,
some millefiori and opaque segmented samples are
incorporated in the necklace. The last mentioned
are left out of account for the present study.

Archaeological background

Fig. 2 Necklace from tomb 36 (Bukl, Albania) with 67 segmented

metal foil beads. A few coloured opaque and millefiori beads are also
incorporated in the assemblage (R. Mller, RGZM).

of bead trade but address other commodities as

well.
Despite their abundance and their obvious
popularity over centuries there are relatively few
newer studies of this fascinating glass bead type.
We hope to fill a few gaps in the overall still
fragmentary picture of metal-foil segmented

2. The paper benefited to a great extent from the stimulating

discussions during the meeting Les destines de lIllyricum
mridional; lidentit adriatique durant le haut Moyen ge (14-15
mars 2008), organised by the French School at Rome, in cooperation with the Municipality of Lezha (Albania), the
Centre dhistoire et civilisation de Byzance (Collge de
France) and the Archaeological Institute of Albania.
, Hekponoe VII
3. See for some cemeteries of Istria . Mapyh
a y cmpu, in Arheoloski vestnik, 18, 1967,
u VIII  h
p. 333-349 and M. Torcellan, Le tre necropoli altomedievali di
Pinguente, in Ricerche di archeologia altomedievale et medievale
11, 1986; for those of Dalmatia, see J. Belosevic, Materijalna
kultura hrvata od VII do IX stoljeca, Zagreb, 1980; and for the

Starting from the 5th century furnished burial

practices appears in the Balkan imperial lands as a
consequence of the barbarian invasion and the
setting up of the Goths and Huns. Later on, to be
buried by dress and jewellery becomes popular
especially during the three centuries which follow
the Justinian reign, from the mid 6th to the
9th century. This phenomenon, which follows the
unequal geography and chronology of Slav and
Bulgarian settlings in the Balkans, articulate a new
social identity, typical for the early medieval
period. After the 9th century, burials continue at a
lesser extent to provide jewellery till the 11th/12th
centuries, but no more dress accessories. Western
Illyricum communities supply a particular
concentration of furnished burials practice from
the 7th to the 9th century in Dalmatia, Prevalitane,
New and Old Epirus 3. The study of different
accessories from these burial assemblages makes
available important information in terms of
production, demand and intercultural exchanges
of the early medieval society.
In this wide early medieval context, Bukl
gives the impression of a small site lost somewhere
on the mountainous border between Prevalitane
and New Epirus. It still gives the same impression,

concentration of burial sites in three other provinces, see

V. Popovic, Byzantins, slaves et autochtones dans les provinces de
Prvalitane et Nouvelle pire, dans Ville et peuplement dans
lIllyricum protobyzantin. Actes du colloque organis par lcole
franaise de Rome (Rome 12-14 mai 1982), in Rome, 1984,
p. 181-243 (CEFR, 17); E. Nallbani, Rsurgence de traditions de
lAntiquit tardive dans les Balkans de lOuest : aperu des
spultures au nord de lAlbanie, in Hortus Artium Medievalium,
9, 2004, p. 25-43; Ead., Urban and countryside funerary in the
early medieval Illyricum. General considerations, in A. Cutler
and A. Papakonstantinou (ed.) The material and the ideal :
essays in the arts of the Byzantine world in honour of J.M. Spieser, Leiden, 2007, p. 47-62 and 241-254.

357

a small village scattered on hillsides between river

Fandis branches, on the north Albanian
mountainous region, up to 600-700 m. It is
situated 25 km away from Lezha (ancient Lissus)
in the rear of the Adriatic shore. The locality
belongs to Mirdita district, together with Malsia e
Madhe in the North, and Mati district in the South
constitute the rural landscape of the late antique
urban centres of Scodra, Lissus and specially
Dyrrachium, which remained the most important
imperial town of the western Balkan shore. Going
through this land-border, between the Adriatic
and the continent, from Montenegrins and
Albanian Alps to the Shkumbin valley quite near
Ochrid, we get the impression of a deserted region
lacking important sites. Or, the prevalent
settlements occupation testifies the contrary for
the first centuries of the middle Ages. Several
burial sites, churches, dwellings and a network of
modest defences and fortified settlements attest
dense activity during the 7th/9th centuries 4. This
geographical area is bordered and drained by
natural resources such as the Drini and Mati
rivers; the Scodra and Ochrid lakes, while the
former important roman road Naissus-Lissus and
the later branch of the so-called medieval Zentas
way runs the north of the territory. Egnatia, the
major continental transit in the nearby South was
surely reachable by internal secondary network
relating Kruja and Dibra with the Ochrid region.
Devoid of urban sites, the hinterland demonstrates
some aspects of unity in terms of production,
consumption and traditions, mainly based on the
material culture analyses. Some of the itemcategories revealed by burials expose the regional
involvement in a much wider trading network.
The amount of value artefacts is very important,
both gold and silver metalwork are present; glass
or semi-precious stone beads are found in Kruja,

Komani, Lezha and Sarda and fragment of silk

wears in Komani 5. This rich material culture
testifies the importance of the Adriatic periphery
of Byzantium and the increasing power of the
local chieftains from the 7th to the 9th century,
during and after the settling down of Slaves and
Bulgarians.

4. For a complete bybliography of published sites in this area

see E. Nallbani, Transformations et continuit dans lOuest des
Balkans : le cas de la civilisation de Komani (VIe-IXe sicles), dans
P. Cabanes et J.-L. Lamboley (ed.), LIllyrie mridionale et
lpire dans lAntiquit, Actes du IVe colloque international de
Grenoble (10-12 octobre 2002), Paris, 2004, p. 481-489; and on
the unpublished finds in ead., Urban and countryside... cit.
n. 3.
5. Personal comments of the restaurateur Frederik Stamati.
6. While the excavation on the graveyard done by S. Anamali
in 1963 was considered as finished, the ruins of St. Maries

church didnt benefit of any excavation. See S. Anamali, Nj

varrez e Mesjets s hershme n Bukl t Mirdits, in Iliria, 1,
1971, p. 209-225. The cemetery contains only inhumations,
buried in rectangle pits made by stone-walls or stone slabs.
Although some of the inhumations are devoid of
architecture.
7. See the chapter on the cemetery of Bukl with the
respective chronology established in base of the gravegoods, in E. Nallbani, Vers le Moyen ge. Komani dans les
Balkans occidentaux, forthcoming.

Despite the ruins of the saint Maries church;

the early medieval Bukl community emerges by
the modest stone-lined graves cemetery excavated
in 1963, without any evidence of associated
settlement 6. Jugging on the 49 burials gravegoods, from the totality of 53 excavated graves,
the cemetery was used from the middle of the 7th
to the 9th century 7. Mortuary assemblages display
dress accessories and belt fittings for men and
woman, as well as tools and offerings. A certain
number of men are buried with iron weapons,
while females carry reliquaries on the dress and
hold jewellery. Their common fabrics, mostly
bronze and iron, reveal a modest community.
Only woman jewellery supplies some wealth by
four inhumations carrying silver crescent, starshaped pendant earrings and an amount of several
glass beads commonly spread. Between 49 burial
assemblages, 25 provides glass beads, mostly
millefiori, segmented transparent and with metal
foil or opaque and green or transparent melon
seed-shaped ones.
In the archaeological context of burial 36, a
reused grave, resulting at least with four
inhumations, burial items seems to belong to the
most recent inhumation, a woman. Her dress
accessories and jewellery entirely bronze
moulded (fig. 3), combine a small circular broach
(3 cm of diameter), a couple of pseudogranulation earrings, a strap-shape ring and the
two small circles, revealing a modest status of the

358

When metal meets beads

Susanne G REIFF and Etleva N ALLBANI

Fig. 3 Grave accessories from the tomb 36 (Bukl), excluding the

necklace (E. Nallbani).

shows similarities among the other cemeteries in

Mirdita and Mati districts, where their
consumption becomes significant in important
communities such as Komani, Prosek, Kruja and
Lezha 8. We can notice the common use of these
artefacts despite the status variations of burial
items. Particular is the case of Kruja site, where
by the last 6th to the 9th century, despite the
wealthiest burial assemblages (bow silver
broaches, circular silver and gold ones, basket
shaped silver and gold earrings), glass-beads
occur among simpler assemblages too, fully
bronze made (Umgeschlagenem fuss fibula,
torques, star-shaped pendant earrings, Byzantine
belt-buckles, dress-reliquaries, finger-rings and
bracelets). Less luxury dress, but a higher
consumption of glass-beads (up to 300 beads in
one necklace), followed by an extraordinary
variety, has been carried by the 7th to 9th century
woman at Komani 9. Such is the case as well of
the coastal site of Lezha, where 7th-9th centuries
burial-artefacts provide a remarkable variation on
glass and quartz beads, except sporadic metal
foiled ones. Segmented metal foil beads in
Albania, have been usually found together with
those millefiori, very often too with opaque
spherical beads with dots.

8th/9th centuries. Among the items, her necklace,

mostly of segmented metal-foil glass beads and
few millefiori and opaque glass ones, makes the
most luxury accessory. Such is the case of the
majority of women burials at Bukl. The
important proportion of glass beads in the site

Such a concentration of furnished burials

containing glass beads is unique in the west part of
the Balkans. There are few graves in Croatian
burials providing glass beads and especially rare
segmented metal foil ones, with one isolated case
in Kasic and one in Montenegro10. Further in the

8. First general remarks on the glass-beads proportions

provided by the burial-accessories of these sites : in Kruja,
the cemetery of 28 burials, excavated in one campaign,
provide 24 furnished graves from which 15 with glass-bead
necklaces, see S. Anamali, H. Spahiu, Varreza e hershme
mesjetare e Krujs, in Bulletin i Universitetit Shtetror t Tirans,
Seria shkencat shoqrore, 17, 1963, p. 3-86; Prosek cemetery
among the totality of 43 excavated burials, provides 36
furnished graves from which 8 contained glass-beads, see
N. Doda Varreza arbrore e Prosekut, in Iliria, 1, 19, 1989,
p. 137-175. The highest number of glass-beads occurs in
Komani and Lezha cemeteries. During the first 40 excavated
burials in Komani (in 1961), 22 provide grave-goods and
only 4 provide glass-beads; a reversible result comes out
from the unpublished material of 200 burials of the same
site, excavated from 1982 to 1984 by H. Spahiu and in
running study by E. Nallbani. Almost 50% of the furnishedburials provide an impressive quantity and variety of glass-

beads, up to 400 per one inhumation. In Lezha, Prendis

excavations unearthed 37 burials (see F. Prendi, Nj varrez e
kulturs arbrore n Lezh, in Iliria, 9-10, 1979-1980, p. 123142), the majority of which were furnished 33 graves
among them, 12 graves provide accessories with glass-beads;
processing excavations on the same upper-city area (see
E. Nallbani, L. Buchet, in the present volume; L. Buchet,
E. Metalla et E. Nallbani, Lezha [Lissos, Alessio] (Albanie) :
espace des morts et organisation de lhabitat mdival, in MEFRM,
119, 2, 2007, p. 477-489, have at present day discovered 7
burials providing glass-beads belonging to 9 inhumations.
The global number of excavated pits rises up to 38, from
which 22 furnished by jewellery, offerings, weapons and
tools.
9. See comments in note 8.
10. Judging on the shape of segmented glass beads, see
J. Belosevic, Materijalna kultura hrvata... n. 3, pl. 35/12;
see for few segmented glass beads in the material of

359

south, burial of the south-east Albania and around

Ochrid region are more dispersed, while in
Peloponnesus Slavic incinerations of Olympia
provide large and divers glass beads quantities
from burial contexts, from the beginning of the 7th
century, which seem to be similar productions to
their Albanian counterparts11. Furthermore, beside
Italian connections, it is important to notice the
particular relations between north Albanian
communities with both the Carpathian and the
lowed Danube region from the last 6th to the 9th
century. Both inhumation and cremation burials
of Slavs and Bulgarians in the lower Danube area,
supply dress accessories and jewellery in
association with considerable quantities of beads,
among them segmented glass ones, with many
parallels in Albania12. Finally, the analyses of the
segmented metal foil beads, is just a sample among
the bulk of Albanian glass beads. As part of a
Mediterranean and south-Europe early medieval
network, their study requires large-scale analyses
in order to understand production continuity,
origin, innovation and trade.

Terminology of composite beads

The main characteristic of all metal foil beads
irrespective of geographic origin and age is a
three-layered sandwich structure consisting of a
core, or a flat base-glass in case of hot-pressed
two-dimensional rectangular shapes like some of
the examples from Egypt with a second layer
consisting of a metal foil often gold and silver13
covered by a final layer of more or less
transparent glass (fig. 4a and b). The top layer of
glass often exhibits yellow to amber colours
which might be an intentional effect of imitating
gold foil where silver had been used. The
technique of manufacture did not vary in depth
as we find similar models in a period of roughly
1500 years, from 300 BC to the 1st half of 13th
century.

Mijele burials of Vir Pazar (Shkodra lake), O. Bepoh

, Mujee, Bup aap, paocpeu ,
h
in u npe, 8, 1966, p. 155-157.
11. See for south-east Albanian burials, E. Nallbani Urban and
countryside funerary..., cit. n. 4; for glass-beads necklace from
Sveti Erasmo, near Ohrid see E. Ma , 
 ja, je, 1992; for Olimpia see T. Vida
and Th. Vlling, Das slawische Brandgrberfeld von Olympia,
Rahden-Westf., 2000, p. 84-95.

b
Fig. 4a and b The layered structure of the beads is best visible when
parts of the outer layer are missing. The inner core shows characteristic
longitudinal fibrous striations, whereas the outer layer is much more
homogeneous. The silver layer is not visible any more on these two
beads but on the bead on fig. 4b (lower picture edge corresponds to
1.7 cm (a) and 2 cm (b) (S. Greiff, RGZM).

Quite a number of terms have been coined to

describe these composite glass-metal objects. Only
to mention some, we find : gilt glass beads or goldin-glass beads14, gold-glass beads15, and metal foiled
beads as part of the group of oriental beads16, in

12. U. Fiedler, Studien zu Grberfelden des 6. bis 9. Jhr. An der

unteren Donau, UPA 11, 1992, Bonn.
13. Tin has to our knowledge not yet been confirmed by
scientific methods.
14. G. C. Boon, Gilt glass beads from Caerleon and elsewhere, in The
Bulletin of the board of Celtic studies, 22, 1966, p. 104-109, spec.
p. 104.
15. M. Spaer, Gold-glass beads... cit. n. 1.
16. J. Callmer, Oriental beads and Europe, A.D. 600-800, in

360

When metal meets beads

Susanne G REIFF and Etleva N ALLBANI

German we have berfangmehrfachperlen and

Reihenperlen17 which can be with or without
metal foil. Callmer calls them drawn multibeads18.
P. Steppuhn uses folierte Perlen19.
Whereas the early beads from Egypt appear as
flattened 3-layer sandwich with a mould-formed
figurative top, the type of segmented foiled beads
like those from Albanian tombs appear already in
the Early Roman Imperial period and can be found
in Merovingian tombs as well.
Around A.D. 600 the use of metal foil beads
seems to decline in West-Central and Northern
Europe 20 due to reduced production rates of the
Byzantine glass industries during the conflicts
affecting essentially the eastern provinces of the
empire.
When after A.D. 700 metal foil beads became
popular again especially in eastern and north
eastern parts of Europe, gold foils were more and
more often replaced by silver foils.

R. Andrae 21 and J. Callmer have both

systematically compiled the occurrence of this
beadtype in the Carolingian period, as has been
done by E. M. Alekseeva for the Northern Black
Sea littoral 22.
A huge series of bead finds comes from the
Basin of Karma River a region west of the
Volga. The largest concentration of oriental bead
finds stretches from the north coast of the black
sea up the major rivers to the northern areas of
the Finno-Ugrian tribes. Beads arrived there
together with coins and silver vessels from
around A.D. 700 23, but these artefacts did not
reach the population of the Baltic Sea at that

time. In the forest zones, the oriental luxury

imports were exchanged for furs. Slaves are
mentioned in this context as well. Beads were
probably meant as smaller gifts not being
valuable enough to compensate for the more
luxurious commodities.
The occurrence of segmented metal foil beads
is strongly linked to the distribution of millefiori
beads. In his work about Carolingian millefiori
beads in Europe, Reinhard Andrae 24 has pointed
out that in a series of 131 bead necklaces 104 were
dominated by segmented multi-layer beads.
There are no traces of production in
Scandinavia indicating the use of pre-drawn rods
or tubes for a local bead production whereas
evidence of the typical winding techniques is
comparatively abundant 25. So the source of the
production of segmented beads has to be searched
elsewhere. The ratio of segmented beads with
metal foil compared to those without is difficult to
decipher. The inherent striation makes it often
impossible to securely identify the presence or
absence of a foil. In many cases only small
particles can be observed under the microscope.
So we have to rely on the distribution pattern of
segmented beads in general.
Segmented gold foil beads occur in
Scandinavian find contexts also during the
Merovingian period. They differ from their
Carolingian counterparts in the use of a
surprisingly thick glass coating layer 26. The use of
the metal foil bead type over a wide time span has
led Fremersdorf 27 to the conclusion that their
value for dating purposes is quite limited.
The earliest segmented glass beads appear in
the Roman Imperial period. There is also quite a
number retrieved from Frankish burial sites. Both

A. Ellegrd and G. kerstrm-Hougen (ed.), Rome and the

North. Studies in Mediterranean archaeology and literature, 135,
1996, p. 53; E. E. Astrup and A. G. Andersen, A study of
metal foiled glass beads from the Viking period, in Acta
archaeologica, 58, 1987, p. 222-228. This last term describes
millefiori and non-foiled segmented beads as well.
K. Bhner, Die frnkischen Altertmer des Trierer Landes,
Berlin, 1958, p. 82.
J. Callmer, Trade beads and bead trade in Scandinavia ca. 8001000 A.D., in Acta archaeologica lundensia, 4-11, 1977, p. 88 f.
P. Steppuhn, Die Glasfunde von Haithabu, in Berichte ber die
Ausgrabungen in Haithabu, 32, 1998, p. 39.
J. Callmer, Oriental beads and Europe... cit. n. 16, p. 55.
R. Andrae, Mosaikaugenperlen. Untersuchungen zur Verbreitung
und Datierung karolingerzeitlicher Millefioriglasperlen in Europa,

in Acta praehistorica et archaeologica, 4, 1973, p. 101-198.

22. E. M. Alekseeva, Ancient beads of the Northern Black Sea littoral
I, in Archaeology of the USSR, Gl-12, Moscow, 1975 and II
1978.
23. J. Callmer, Oriental beads and Europe... cit. n. 16, p. 56.
24. R. Andrae, Mosaikaugenperlen. Untersuchungen... cit. n. 21,
p. 129.
25. J. Callmer, Beads in Scandinavia in the early and high medieval
periods, ca. A.D. 400-1200, in I. C. Glover, H. H. Brock and
J. Henderson (ed.), Ornaments from the past-beads studies after
Beck, London, 2003, p. 38-46, spec. p. 39 and 44.
26. Ibid., p. 41.
27. F. Fremersdorf, Das frnkische Reihengrberfeld KlnMngersdorf, in Germanische Denkmler der Vlkerwanderungszeit, 6, 1955, p. 85.

Distribution and the question of origin

17.
18.
19.
20.
21.

361

differ from the Carolingian examples in the way

that the later ones are much larger in size 28.
The statistically well established fact that the
Carolingian segmented glass beads are often
combined with millefiori beads 29 points sharply to a
common source. Furthermore, there is a
surprisingly consistent connection to the
distribution pathways of Arabic silver coins both
concerning timelines and geographic spread 30. All
these arguments make a strong point to an origin
somewhere in the Eastern Mediterranean Regions
like the Byzantine Empire. Egypt and Syria are
discussed as the most possible source for millefiori
beads 31 so that they could be the birthplace of
segmented metal foil beads as well. From here
either techniques of manufacture, itinerary
craftsmen or half-finished products might have
spread to other regions. Among others, a strong
candidate is Southern Russia acting at least as a
distribution centre for the many, many beads
found along an Eastern track that leads from the
Caucasus as far north as the Baltic Sea 32.
For the Merovingian Period Boon is certain
about a local production in Central Europe 33,
however any hard evidence is still lacking up-todate.

Results of chemical analyses

Aims of the chemical investigations
Between A.D. 800 and 1000 glass makers could
dispose of a range of different glass masses as
discussed below. For the purpose of grouping and
classification it was interesting to find out whether
the beads used for the necklace from Bukl were all

28.
29.
30.
31.

See n. 24.
Ibid.
See n. 23.
R. Andrae, Mosaikaugenperlen. Untersuchungen... cit. n. 21,
p. 158.
32. M. Spaer, Gold-glass beads... cit. n. 1, p. 18.
33. G. C. Boon, Gold-in-glass beads from the Ancient World, in
Britannia, 8, 1977, p. 193-207, spec. p. 201.
34. For analyzing the bulk composition of the glass and the
metal layers we chose a Micro-XRF-system by
Roentgenanalytik Messtechnik GmbH (Taunusstein,
Germany), thus limiting the level of destruction of the
original substance. The system used is an Eagle III XXL
with an extra large sample chamber measuring
0,75 0,75 1,35 m. The device is equipped with a
Rhodium tube, with options for measurement in air or
vacuum and a nitrogen-cooled Oxford EDAX-system with a

made from similar glasses. If different glass types

with different melting points were used for the core
and the shell, this could give a clue for the decision
between different models of manufacturing
techniques. The composition of the Albanian beads
should be compared with published analytical data
from other metal foil beads and differences and
similarities interpreted in terms of production sites
and trading routes. As there are a few examples of
segmented metal foil beads from Roman contexts,
there was a further set of data to compare with.
Furthermore, we wanted to identify the metal
layers where possible in order to exclude the use of
other materials than silver.

Instrumentation
All analyses have been performed with a MicroX-ray-fluorescence technique Micro-XRF,
equipment especially designed for the investigation
of small spots on large samples 34. The X-ray beam is
reduced to a spot size of 0.3 mm, thus allowing
localized chemical analysis of very small patches of
material like the tiny rests of corroded metal foil on
the Albanian beads. In the case of the metal foils a
mere qualitative identification of the metal was
sufficient. For a reliable interpretation of glass
compositions used, we needed a full quantitative
analysis the compounds usually to be found in
antique glasses. For the purpose of quantification
the intensity of any chemical element gained from
the bead glasses is calculated against the intensity
of reference standard glasses with known
compositions 35. Glass corrosion effects the chemical
composition of excavated glassware lowering
sodium contents and rising silicon dioxide values,

Si (Li) detector (FWHM resolution for MnKa = 146 eV). The

conditions were as follows : Beam 40 kV and 355 mA for
glass, 300 for silver, spot size 0,3 mm, forming time 35 ms,
vacuum conditions for glass, 300 Live seconds acquisition
time. Quantification was performed by means of a systemintegrated software package based on commercially
available glass standards combined with fundamental
parameter calculations. Detection limits for most elements
are around 0,01 wt.% and 0,07 wt.% for arsenic due to the
AsKa / PbLa peak overlap. For each metal layer between 2
and 3 measurements have been carried out. Due to the
instrumental setting it is not necessary to take any samples.
In the case of the glass a circular area of ca. 0,5 mm in
diameter was cleaned for analyses with an micro-drill device
to eliminate corrosion effects.
35. There are special internationally certified standard glasses
available.

362

When metal meets beads

Susanne G REIFF and Etleva N ALLBANI

so in any case, the surface to be measured has to be

cleaned mechanically 36. For glass and metal
analyses different instrumentation settings are
necessary 37.

The foils
Both the inherent structure of the core
material and the formation of corrosion layers on
the glass layers make it difficult to judge whether a
segmented bead was decorated by a metal foil or
not. Glass corrosion layers would reflect incident
light like metal leaf does. In the case of silver foil
the corrosion of the metal itself is a problem
(fig. 5). The adsorption of more or less opacifying
mobile soil compounds into the layered structure

Fig. 5 Traces of corroded silver foil (lower picture edge corresponds

to 0.9 cm) (S. Greiff).

Fig. 6 All foil particles investigated were made from silver as visible from the XRF-spectrum (peak labelled AgLa). The presence of iron and manganese
is due to the intrusion of soil fluids into the layered structure (S. Greiff).

36. A clean surface of 2 or 3 mm is achieved by preparation

under magnification either by sand-blasting with a

corundum powder or using a diamond-tipped micro-shaper.

37. See n. 34.

363

is a well known effect of any excavated object,

thus obscuring structural details. Last not least the
process of forming the caterpillar-like shape
deforms the delicate metal leaf leading to fissures
and fragmentation. One big questions remains :
Would it make any sense to produce a rather
complicated three-layered structure with a
delicate cover skin of glass on top if there was no
need to protect something underneath?
Even with a good microscope, all the more
with the naked eye, the presence of metal layers
can not be confirmed with certainty in every case
(see fig. 4). We encountered the same problem
while investigating the Albanian samples. X-ray
techniques did not give the hoped-for results due
to the flimsiness of the metal particles that had
survived in the best cases (see fig. 9) 38. Instead, an
analytical approach with Micro-XRF and its fine
spatial resolution was successfully used to identify
particles of metal where accessible. In some cases
the outer layer is not firmly fixed to the core and
could be lifted in its entirety. Very often the outer
glass shell showed characteristic apertures opening
a way for the X-ray beam. With a beam width of
0.3 mm it was possible to identify even small
patches of metal foil or corroded metal left.

Analytical results
Metal foils
In some cases, the metal layer was partly
exposed because the outer glass shell was
incomplete from the beginning or due to damage
during burial or after excavation. Around half a
dozen analyses of metal layers could be
accomplished. All results showed that silver had
been used (fig. 6). None of the beads carried a gold
foil as already indicated by the optical inspection
under the microscope.
Beside silver, some elements occur in the
XRF-spectrum that are specific for soil
constituents migrating into the sandwich
structure of the bead. During burial, silver turns
into silver chloride AgCl. Iron Fe and
manganese Mn are ions typical for soil fluids
and are absorbed on corroding surfaces on buried
artefacts of all kinds. Due to pronounced
corrosion it was not possible to attain quantitative
results from the silver.

Glass layers
Core and outer layer were analyzed separately.
The results are given in table 1.

Na2O

MgO

Al2O3

SiO2

P2O5

SO3

K 2O

CaO

TiO2

MnO

FeO

CuO

SrO

ZrO

Sample
D, St1
E, St3

Core
Core

15,29
15,77

3,55
3,88

2,98
3,03

65,90
64,95

0,21
0,24

0,29
0,37

2,98
2,76

6,10
6,05

0,12
0,12

1,70
1,94

0,81
0,82

0,01
0,00

0,04
0,05

0,01
0,02

F, St1
H, St1

Core
Core

14,99
13,78

3,98
3,70

3,53
3,52

64,46
66,51

0,27
0,29

0,23
0,24

2,81
2,77

6,06
5,69

0,16
0,12

2,37
2,39

1,06
0,91

0,01
0,01

0,04
0,05

0,01
0,02

I, St1
J, St4

Core
Core

15,64
10,91

3,93
4,38

2,98
2,53

65,30
72,61

0,24
0,19

0,27
0,36

2,65
2,14

6,39
5,68

0,14
0,08

1,52
0,53

0,87
0,53

0,01
0,01

0,04
0,04

0,02
0,01

K, St1
L, St2

Core
Core

16,04
14,90

3,75
3,81

3,11
3,07

65,24
64,69

0,23
0,27

0,27
0,31

2,52
2,51

6,30
7,06

0,12
0,14

1,49
2,23

0,86
0,92

0,01
0,01

0,04
0,04

0,02
0,02

D, St2

Outer layer

15,96

3,83

3,25

65,56

0,22

0,23

2,89

6,46

0,13

0,58

0,83

0,01

0,04

0,02

E, St1
E, St2

Outer layer
Outer layer

13,18
18,16

2,69
4,62

7,26
2,86

52,18
62,14

8,28
0,28

0,23
0,33

1,65
2,40

6,67
6,42

0,37
0,16

1,47
1,52

5,93
1,06

0,02
0,00

0,05
0,04

0,02
0,02

F, St3
F, St4

Outer layer
Outer layer

10,91
11,37

4,15
3,15

4,05
4,48

70,18
71,01

0,43
0,28

0,42
0,25

2,55
3,47

4,08
4,40

0,12
0,11

2,22
0,79

0,81
0,61

0,03
0,01

0,04
0,05

0,02
0,01

K, St2
N, St1

Outer layer
Outer layer

15,36
16,34

4,10
4,23

3,28
2,77

65,87
63,43

0,20
0,34

0,23
0,31

2,88
2,72

6,37
7,06

0,14
0,11

0,62
1,86

0,85
0,75

0,04
0,01

0,04
0,06

0,02
0,02

C, St1
C, St1b

Outer layer
Outer layer

15,64
16,49

4,83
5,10

1,93
1,93

66,20
65,26

0,15
0,19

0,33
0,36

2,38
2,33

6,77
6,60

0,11
0,11

0,85
0,83

0,71
0,70

0,01
0,01

0,05
0,05

0,02
0,02

38. We are grateful to Detlef Bach, Winterbach, Germany for

taking a series of X-ray shots on the Albanian necklace as
well as test samples of glasses covered with gold and metal

leafs. Even with the lowest possible values of 20 kV it was

not possible to trace foil and metal particles that had been
confirmed before by optical investigations and analytics.

364

When metal meets beads

Susanne G REIFF and Etleva N ALLBANI

It is obvious that compositional variety

between different samples is not pronounced. The
samples are all soda-lime-silica based. No highlead or potassium rich potash wood-ash
compositions could be found. Outer shell and
inner layer are made from the same glass type.

The widespread occurrence of metal foil beads

with a structure that does not seem to vary a lot
calls for chemical analyses to check how far the
similarities are going in terms of glass composition.
In the period we are investigating, a diversity of
glass composition recipes developed that differ
from one another mainly by the source of the flux.
Salts, ashes or lead compounds have to be added to
the sand to lower the melting point and produce a
melt that becomes vitreous on fast cooling. Lead
oxide, sodium carbonate and potassium carbonate
were the usual flux components that were taken
from different sources. In Europe the potassium
rich flux became popular only from around
A.D. 800 onwards 39 when glass makers more and
more had to rely on locally available raw materials.
Wood ash and later potash delivered the potassium

that was necessary to make the glass that with its

usual green colour became known as wood
glass. Transparent lead glasses often used for small
items are also a product of the Middle Ages 40.
Before the exploitation of local plants, the most
widespread flux during the Roman and Migration
periods was sodium carbonate that was exploited
as a mineral from salt lakes like in Egypt. There was
another readily available source of soda in the
Mediterranean and Middle East that had been
known from the very early phases of glass
production in the 3rd and 2nd millennium BC : Soda
gained from ashes of special plants tolerating arid
and salty environments like some sort of tamarisk
bushes and coastal plants. Despite the
predominance of Egyptian mineral soda on the
Mediterranean coast and in Europe, plant ash soda
continued to be used in more eastern regions like
the Sassanian Empire.
To sum it up : In the time span between
A.D. 800 and 1000 there are four fundamentally
different ways to produce glass, one with potassium
rich wood ashes, two with soda from different
sources and one lead-rich variety. Despite the fact
that both soda-dominated compositions bear a lot
of sodium Na in their composition, a few other
components deliver the clue to separate these two
soda sources on chemical grounds. Plant ash soda
yields more potassium, magnesium and aluminium
compared to their mineral counterpart. E. V. Sayre
and R. W. Smith 41 investigated a series of analyses
and drew the line between mineral soda and plant
ash soda at around 1.5 wt.% MgO. Thus, by
chemical analyses we can separate the different
flux materials possible at that period. Not only can
the question of basic glass recipes be addressed.
Manufacture is another topic of interest that might
become elucidated by chemical analyses. For
example does the core glass differ from the thin coat
or which type of metal foils have been used?
Chemical analyses of metal foil glass or
segmented beads are not abundant, but it is
possible to retrieve some examples from the
literature. However, often it is not clear from the

39. K. H. Wedepohl, Glas in Antike und Mittelalter, Geschichte eines

Werkstoffs, Stuttgart, 2003, p. 17.
40. P. Steppuhn, Bleiglasperlen des frhen und hohen Mittelalters in
Nordeuropa, in U. von Freeden and A. Wieczorek (ed.),
Perlen, Archologie, Techniken, Analysen, Akten des

Internationalen Perlensymposiums in Mannheim vom 11. bis 14.

11. 1994, Kolloquien zur Vor- und Frhgeschichte, 1, 1997,
p. 203-209.
41. E. V. Sayre and R. W. Smith, Compositional categories in
ancient glass, in Science, 133, 1961, p. 1824-1826.

Discussion of the analytical results

The results attained by chemical and optical
methods can now be discussed in terms of what
they tell us about the different structural
components of the beads and possible source
regions of the glass. Furthermore we have to look
for similarities with comparable bead material
from earlier periods and from other regions.
Starting with a review of the different glass types
that developed from around A.D. 800 onwards,
the analytical results attained from the Albanian
material are compared with published analyses
from similar beads. The facts gathered from a
detailed examination under the microscope and
by X-ray radiography are set into relation to the
various models of production discussed in the
literature.

Glass recipes in the first millennium A.D.

365

texts whether the beads belong to the segmented

type with or without foil. We found examples
from Eastern Europe, Scandinavia as well as some
Roman examples.

and one group where a plant-ash had been used as

a flux. The six transparent segmented beads all
belonged to the plant-ash group characterized by
high potassium and magnesium contents.

Borovce cemetery Slovakia

Viking Age beads from Kaupang and Birka

The Early Mediaeval cemetery lies in the

district of Trnava near the village of Borovce. The
site has been dated from the 8th to 11th centuries 42.
A lot of the segmented beads from this site are
green or blue and were according to the authors
manufactured from one single tube. Two of the
analyzed samples 43 are described as drawn beads
with metal foils, representing a suitable reference
material to compare with our Albanian bead
assemblage. These two samples seem to fit in the
scheme of other metal foil beads as will be shown
later. The data for MgO, Al2O3 and K2O indicate
the use of a plant ash source for the soda flux. One
of the two samples shows elevated PbO-contents
nearly 5%. From the descriptions in the text is
not clear which layer of the bead was analyzed.

In their study of Viking Age metal foil glass

beads E. E. Astrup and A. G. Andersen examined
material from Norway Kaupang and Sweden
Birka 45. They performed analyses of core and
outer layer on three samples from Kaupang and 1
from Birka. heir results point out that all beads are
made from sodium dominated glass. MgO levels
around 5-6 wt% as well as elevated aluminium and
potassium contents clearly demonstrate that plantash soda is the main source of the flux. Data for
outer layer and core do not differ to a great extent,
so the same glass mass has been used for both.

Prague castle and surroundings

Olive-shaped and segmented types
predominate in the burial grounds from Prague
Castle and its surroundings 44. In this area the
presence of these beads can be traced from the 9th to
the 12th century, being even the predominant bead
type in the burial grounds. The Czech authors
analyzed 28 beads dating from 10th to 16th century
contexts, so they are definitely later than the
Albanian necklace. Among a total of 28 analyzed
objects the segmented beads are represented by a
relatively high proportion of 8 samples. Two of
these eight were opaque yellow glasses and only
the transparent ones referred to here. The whole set
of 28 analyses could be subdivided into five
chemically distinct groups of glass formulations.
Beside three lead glasses, there was a group
representative of Roman-type soda-lime glasses

42. D. Stas s ikov-S tukovsk and A. Pls ko, Typologische und

technologische Aspekte der Perlen aus dem frhmittelalterlichen
Grberfeld in Borovce, in U. von Freeden und A. Wieczorek
(ed.), Perlen, Archologie... cit. n. 40, p. 259-274.
43. Ibid., samples no. 4 and 5 from tables 3 and 4.
44. E. Cerna et al., Early medieval glass beads from Prague Castle and
its surroundings : typological and chemical classification of the
finds, in Annales du 16e Congrs de lAssociation internationale
pour lHistoire du Verre Londres 2003, Nottingham, 2005,
p. 335-339.

Haithabu
The Viking Age settlement has been published
in great detail. 15% of the whole bead material
consists of foiled beads, some segmented, some
belong to the hollow type which is rare among the
Bukl samples plain segmented beads without
foil not included 46. Analyses of segmented beads
from the site have been published by
M. Dekwna 47. Like in the case of Borovce, some
of the samples yield higher PbO-contents around
2%, whereas the other components fit in the
general picture of a plant-ash glass.

Roman examples
A few Roman examples of gold-foil beads have
been analyzed. One example comes from
Caerleon in Wales and has been analyzed by
M. Dekwna 48 the other two are from Faras and
Panticapaeum. All three examples come from 2nd
to 3rd century contexts and all belong to the same
glass family of soda-glasses with mineral soda as a
flux. This was the predominant glass type of the

45. E. E. Astrup and A. G. Andersen, A study of metal foiled... cit.

n. 16.
46. P. Steppuhn, Die Glasfunde von Haithabu ... cit. n. 19, p. 39.
47. M. Dekwna, Szko w Europie wczesno-s redniowiecznej,
Warsaw, 1980, p. 184, 187, 189; Id., Untersuchungen an
Glasfunden aus Haithabu, in Berichte ber die Ausgrabungen in
Haithabu, 27, 1990, p. 9-63.
48. M. Dekwna, Szko w Europie . . . cit. n. 47, p. 54 ;
G. C. Boon, Gold-in-glass beads... cit. n. 33, p. 204.

366

When metal meets beads

Susanne G REIFF and Etleva N ALLBANI

Roman period as hundreds and thousands of

analyses have shown.

Possible source regions of the raw materials

In order to gain a clearer picture of similarities
between the different bead analyses, some
chemical components are depicted in diagrams
with one chemical component on the x-axis and a
second component is plotted along the y-axis.
Among the many varieties possible one should
chose those element combinations which are most
diagnostic. As glass families are distinguished

mainly by the fluxes used, a plot of magnesium

oxide MgO vs. calcium oxide CaO or
potassium oxide K2O are generally accepted to
mark the borders between the different
possibilities. The choice is possible because the
chemistry of plant ashes is characterized by higher
contents of potassium, magnesium, phosphorous
and chlorine 49. It is interesting to note that all above
mentioned beads irrespective of geographic
provenance are made from a very similar glass type.
Figure 7 presents results in the System CaO vs.
MgO for the Albanian necklace as well as for

Fig. 7 The analytical results of the Albanian beads (red stars) together with reference data of other segmented beads taken from the literature
(magnesium oxide vs. calcium oxide). The areas of the different fluxes are given for comparison. It is obvious that all post-Roman segmented beads
are produced with plant-ashes (S. Greiff).

49. Y. Barkoudah and J. Henderson, Plant ashes from Syria and

the manufacture of ancient glass : ethnographic and scientific

aspects, in Journal of glass studies, 48, 2006, p. 297-321.

367

different beads from the other sites mentioned

above. The fields for typical glass families that are
predominantly defined by the fluxes used are
drawn for comparison. Mineral soda is
distinguished by relatively low calcium and
magnesium oxide contents 5-9 wt.% and 1.5
wt.%. Plant-ash soda yields more magnesium
oxide 1.5-6% whereas the calcium oxide in
ashes made from European trees and ferns is
much higher.
The identification of the flux of the beads is
straightforward : 100% of all points representing
post-Roman segmented glass beads plot into a
field that stands for plant-ash soda flux. The few
examples of Roman gold-foil beads, however,
point into another direction. They were produced
with the Roman standard flux of mineral soda.
Soda-rich plant ashes have been used from the 4th
millennium BC onwards in the Near East and
Egypt 50 starting with the production of glazes.
From about 1500 BC onwards, it was employed for
the production of raw glass as well. The switch to
mineral soda came around the beginning of the 1st
millennium BC and turned to become the
predominant flux material throughout the Roman
Empire from around 500 BC onwards. The Levant
and Egypt are considered to be the main producers
of raw glass at that time. In Mesopotamia and Iran
however, the use of plant-ash continued
throughout the Roman period. In the Middle Ages
from around A.D. 800 or 900 we observe a revival
of plant-ash glass production also in the Near East
where mineral soda had predominated for a quite
long time.
In terms of the unknown origin of the metal
foil glass beads, it would be desirable to reduce the
range of possible source regions. The knowledge of
glass production traces in regions like Southern
Russia or the heart of the Byzantine Empire is still
quite restricted, so we have to refer to the data
basis available at the moment. With more detailed
analyses published and new finds excavated the
picture might change again.
I. C. Freestone collected chemical data from
both Sassanian and Syro-Islamic plant-ash glasses
and found that Sassanian glasses can be divided

from their counterparts by higher magnesium

oxide contents 51. With this in mind we can
compare the results of the analyzed beads with the
subdivision established by Freestone (fig. 8).
The field of high-magnesia Sassanian plant
ash glasses runs from ca. 7% calcium oxide down
to a value between 5.5 and 6 wt% magnesium
oxide. A majority of 90% of the bead analyses
collected for this work lies in the field of Sassanian
glasses. Only four points can be attributed to the
low-magnesia Syrian-Islamic type. Considering
the Albanian beads alone, the case is even clearer.
All Albanian bead compositions coincide with the
Sassanian high-magnesia subdivision.
Furthermore, nearly all segmented beads fall into
this same category of glass. A majority of the
analyzed beads share the characteristics of highmagnesia plant-ash as defined by I. C. Freestone 52.
The Islamic expansion set an end to the
Sassanian Empire in the 1st half of the 6th
century, two centuries before segmented gold-foil
beads were transformed into the necklace found
in a tomb in the Albanian mountains. The
production of plant-ash glasses probably did not
stop with the advent of the Islamic invaders in
present day Iran and the surrounding territories
controlled by the Sassanian kings. Just the
opposite had happened. According to the
published data mentioned above, it seems that
plant-ash formulations had been re-imported to
the Levant to ensure a continuous glass
production at a time when access to the mineral
soda sources was obstructed. There are, however,
characteristic chemical differences between the
two plant-ash glass families. From the analytical
perspective there is strong evidence that those
plant-ashes used for segmented metal foil beads of
the late 1st millennium followed probably the
same recipes as used for producing Sassanian
vessel glass. This conclusion can be drawn from
main elemental composition (fig. 8). To find the
exact place where the plants for the ashes have
grown is a different case to be solved possibly by
future isotope analyses.
Combining gold and glass was not typical for
Sassanian glasswork. Gold glass beads are

50. M. S. Tite et al., The composition of soda-rich and mixed alkali

plant ashes used in the production of glass, in Journal of
Archaeological Science, 33, 2006, p. 1284-1292.
51. I. C. Freestone, Glass production in late Antiquity and the early

Islamic period : a geochemical perspective, in M. Magetti and

B. Messiga (ed.), Geomaterials in cultural heritage, geological
society special publications, 257, 2006, p. 201-216, spec. p. 204.
52. Ibid.

368

When metal meets beads

Susanne G REIFF and Etleva N ALLBANI

Fig. 8 The values for MgO and K2O were used by I. C. Freestone (see footnote 41) to define sub-groups of plant-ash glasses. The Albanian beads
fall into the field of Sassanian plant-ash recipes, as most literature data of segmented beads do (S. Greiff).

The structure of segmented beads and

especially the foiled representatives among this
group has been discussed in the literature

indicating specific techniques of manufacture 54. By

inspection under the microscope and by taking Xray radiographs a lot of structural details turned
up when investigating the Albanian examples
from Bukl.
As mentioned above, the Albanian examples
belong to the category of multilayered segmented
beads with a core, a metal layer and an outer glass
layer. A small longitudinal opening is running
through the centre (fig. 9). The shape of the beads
resembles the curved body of a caterpillar. In most

53. St. John Simpson, Sasanian beads : the evidence of art, texts and
archaeology, in I. C. Glover, H. H. Brock and J. Henderson
(ed.), Ornaments from the past-beads studies after Beck, London,
2003, p. 59-73, spec. p. 67.
54. See M. Jnsson, P. Hunner, Golf foil beads, in M. Rasmussen,

U. Lund-Hansen and U. Nsmann (ed.) Glass beads, cultural

history, technology, experiment and analogy, Studies in technology
and culture, 2, 1995, p. 113-116, or the works of M. Spaer,
Gold-glass beads . . . cit. n. 1 and E. E. Astrup and
A. G. Andersen, A study of metal foiled... cit. n. 16.

completely unknown 53 in that period. We have to

look for later small finds of glass work to see if
comparable material occurs during the Early
Islamic phase on the territory of the former
Sassanian kingdom.

Structural details of the beads

369

Fig. 9 X-ray radiograph from a choice of the beads from Bukl. The rather narrow string holes run through the length of the bead often limited by a
very fine light rim which corresponds to the iron-rich layer lining the holes (D. Bach, Winterbach).

cases, the outlines show a rather smooth

curvature without pronounced notches between
the segments (fig. 2). The smallest unit consists of
1 segment, the longest carries 5 segments and
reaches a length of 1.7 cm. The length of the single
segments runs between 1 mm to a max of perhaps
4 mm. The diameters of these parts range from 3
to 7 mm with a majority between 4 and 6 mm. In
one piece, the diameter varies only 1 or 2 mm. Xray images show that the perforation is rather
regular with a diameter of around 1-2 mm,
sometimes with expansions in the middle of each
segment sphere (fig. 9). A few beads are broken or
show gaps offering insight into the layered
structure. Sometimes the outer glass layer even
can be removed separately in form of a half-shell.
This outer glass skin is very thin often around
0.05-0.07 mm (fig. 10), covering a much thicker
core. Whereas the core material shows a
characteristic elongated, striated structure, the
outer glass layer is much more homogeneous and
transparent (fig. 11a and b). The bubbles contained
in the glass mass are only slightly elongated in
contrast to the longitudinal inhomogeneities in
the core material. The surface of the outer layer is
very smooth with no traces of striation marks
running along with or perpendicular to the length

of the bead. There are only rare examples with a

more homogeneous core among the beads from
Bukl.

Fig. 10 The outer layer could be lifted off and its thickness measured
(0.05-0.07 mm). The faint striations are the negative imprints inherited
from the striated inner core (lower picture edge corresponds to 0.9 cm)
(S. Greiff).

370

When metal meets beads

Susanne G REIFF and Etleva N ALLBANI

Fig. 11a This beads end was flattened by grinding thus exhibiting the difference between the clear outer glass skin and the structure of the
inhomogeneous core (lower picture edge corresponds to 0.9 cm); Fig. 11b : The outer layer of this bead shows only a few rounded bubbles (lower
picture edge corresponds to 1.1 cm) (S. Greiff).

Among the 67 segmented metal foil beads

making up the Bukl necklace, there is a huge
group with a very similar appearance of the core
material. In general the material of the core shows
a rough surface with an elongated structure giving
way to a surface with striation marks running
longitudinally with the length of the core. In some
cases it is looking as fibrous as a wood grain
structure of a soft wood (fig. 13). There are
impurities that may have been incorporated when
the glass was formed and stretched. The glass is
inhomogeneous with lighter and darker layers
rendering the glass slightly yellowish or greenish
Fig. 12 The silver foil underneath outer layer is still complete imparting
a vivid metallic sheen (lower picture edge corresponds to 1.35 cm)
(S. Greiff).

The beads as such appear slight greenish to

yellowish. In cases when the silver foils are still
complete and not dulled by corrosion, the metallic
sheen is very pronounced (fig. 12). In many cases
the foil was damaged perhaps already while
manufacturing the bead or the core was not
completely covered. When looking at small
separate fragments of the shell, however, it
becomes clear that the outer layer is nearly
colourless and that the slight tinges come from the
core shining through or traces of the corroded
metal foils.

Fig. 13 A broken bead with an extremely fibrous core (lower picture

edge corresponds to 1.35 cm) (S. Hartmann).

371

with a silky shine due to the fibrous structure. All

gaseous inclusions are elongated. The overall
picture is that the specific appearance of this type
of bead core is produced by a process involving
drawing of a glass mass that is not homogenized
well enough to get a clear glass. This inferior
quality is not so much disturbing as the core was
meant to be covered by some foil.
X-ray imaging made it possible to observe the
interior of the core structure also on complete
beads (fig. 9). The perforation of the string hole is
rather narrow with only rarely a slight widening
in the centre of each segment. The width is
varying from bead to bead from minimum 1 to
nearly 2 or 3 mm. In many cases the diameter of
the string hole narrows slightly from one end oft
the bead to the other, suggesting the use of a thin
pointed instrument. The fine light lines visible on
the X-ray images running parallel to the
perforation stand for a material with a higher
absorption capacity for X-rays covering the
borders of the perforation. The foils are not visible.
On most beads the outer and inner layers follow
each other smoothly, only in some cases a gap
opens between the two glass layers on the
protruding roundels.
When the ends of the beads are examined we
often find them to be flattened and smoothed by
some sort of grinding process (fig. 12). Other
examples show broken edges without any
finishing work. One bead is an exception to this
rule : Its interior is formed by a rather smooth
tube without striations typical for most of the
Bukl examples. The outer layer does not cover it
completely and shows the characteristically
smooth ends that are due to a last hot-working
step (fig. 14).
The foils are often only visible as residual
fragments. Sometimes, the layers show very
straight edges.

Fig. 14 This bead differs from the majority of segmented beads by its
more homogeneous core and the fire-rounded rim of the outer skin
(lower picture edge corresponds to 1.35 cm) (S. Greiff).

of the models proposed for the manufacture of

this bead type in the literature.

Models of manufacture of segmented

and metal foil beads

The observations made by different methods

yield information that can be interpreted in view

There are only few archaeological traces that

could be definitely attributed to the production of
segmented metal foil beads, so we have to rely on
the products themselves to elucidate how they
were made. The Scandinavian beads often come
from cremation contexts and suffer from severe
heat damage. In general, two different groups of
multilayered glass beads can be distinguished by
the width of their string holes. Some have a rather
wide concave hollow inner space and an oliveshaped outline; others have a small and more or
less straight opening running through the length
of the structure. The Albanian examples belong to
this second type and all following discussions refer
to this kind of segmented bead.
The method proposed by M. Dekwna 55 uses a
flat rectangular strip of soft glass with a
longitudinal groove that runs parallel to the long
side of the strip. The soft glass is then rolled into a
tube and the gap hot-sealed with the groove now
forming the future bead hole. The last step is
forming the tube into the typical segmented shape
by means of a tweezer-like instrument 56.
E. E. Astrup and A. G. Andersen suggested
another possibility for making segmented metal

55. M. Dekwna, Untersuchungen an Glasfunden... cit. n. 47,

p. 42.

56. Ibid. The description by M. Dekwna does not take the

application of metal foil into account.

Discussion of possible manufacturing

procedures

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When metal meets beads

Susanne G REIFF and Etleva N ALLBANI

foil beads based on the models developed by Van

der Sleen 57. They start with the production of a
drawn glass tube the step of drawing will be
discussed below in some detail. The glass tube
shows characteristic longitudinal striations which
may develop into a fibrous structure. Before the
softened tube is shaped into segments using a
metal tool or a mould, a metal wire has to be
introduced for better handling. Next, the halffinished product is dipped into molten metal or
covered by metal foil. The outer glass layer is
applied by rolling the segmented tube on a half
molten glass.
M. Jnsson and P. Hunner studied the typical
segmented and foiled Scandinavian beads from
the view of a glassmaker 58. They list three possible
ways to fabricate this type of glass bead. Two of
their models involve the idea of two tubes; one
larger slipped over a smaller one. A small flame
focused on the double-layer tube in intervals
while drawing, creates the indentations separating
the segments. For model No. 2 a copper wire is
introduced into the double-layer tube and the
whole assemblage is heated. The step of shaping
follows the ideas of Astrup and Andersen and
other authors by using some instrument or mould
to produce the segments. Model No. 3 relies on
the dipping of the core bead into molten glass
giving way to a specific pattern of bubble shapes in
the outer glass layers that the authors observed on
examples from Lousgrd. The copper wire that is
postulated for models 2 and 3 has to be dissolved
by an acid in the end. The text does not give any
clue that the authors performed replication
experiments to verify their suggestions and
observations. The metal is thought to be applied as
thin metal foils.
Ethnographic studies in some Indian
workshops revealed details of the manufacture
processes of drawn glass tubes in general 59.
Essential to the successful drawing of a hollow
tube is the insertion of an iron stick through the
length of a gather of molten glass which is
marvered to become somewhat conical at the rear

end. The process of drawing then needs at least

two persons involved, one holding the gather at
one end of the stick, the other drawing from the
opposite. The tube protrudes from the conical end
of the molten glass, and is drawn over the tip of
the iron rod, thus producing a hollow tube with a
rounded diameter. In order to prevent the molten
glass from sticking to the rod while drawing, the
pointed iron is covered with a layer of finely
crushed bricks. The temperature of the soft glass is
kept on a level high enough for the tube to be
drawn from the end of the tip but low enough at
some point away to avoid a collapse of the hollow
tube.
As to the formation of the characteristically
segmented shape, the beads can be divided into
two groups. Some seem to be formed individually
by using a shaping tong to form separate beads.
The other by far more common type forms a
sequence of rounded protrusions like a Perlstab
and belongs to the segmented beads. This
segmentation has been probably achieved by
cutting the double tubes to a suitable size which
could be rolled over a mould while being soft. An
example of such a shaping device made from
stone and suitable for the purpose of shaping
segmented beads has been unearthed from a bead
workshop in Kom el-Dikka near Alexandria 60.
This sectioning mould dating to the Coptic period
bears 14 long parallel grooves separated by rather
sharp ridges. Instead of using such a device, Boon
assumes 61 that the tube was placed on a wire,
and pinched at intervals to form the segments.
Be as it may, the Albanian examples like many
other examples of segmented beads show two
separate glass layers. The core often consists of an
inhomogeneous lamellar fibrous glass reminding
of wood grain. This peculiar appearance has led to
the assumption that it might be of organic origin
as for example something as thin as a fern stem 62.
The lamellar and fibrous structure of the core
accelerates corrosion during burial, but, on the
other side, adds an appealing vivid surface effect to
the beads. The irregular striated core glass remains

57. W. G. N. Van der Sleen, A handbook of beads, Lttich, 1976.

58. M. Jnsson, P. Hunner, Golf foil beads... cit. n. 54.
59. T. Sode, Viking age glass beads from Ribe, Denmark, in the light
of ethnographic research, in I. C. Glover, H. H. Brock and
J. Henderson (ed.), Ornaments from the past-beads studies after

Beck, London, 2003, p. 47-58.

60. See fig. 2 in M. Spaer, Gold-glass beads... cit. n. 1.
61. G. C. Boon, Gold-in-glass beads... cit. n. 33, p. 193.
62. J. Poulk, Staroslovank Morava, in Monumenta archaeologica,
1, 1948, p. 62.

373

often visible, though covered by another two

layers. The metal foil is extremely thin, only
around 1 micrometre 1/1000 mm 63 , thus
moulding the surface of the inner core instead of
disguising it. The upper glass covers the
underlying core only as a flimsy skin 64 leaving the
lamellar structure to shine through. During use
and burial and even while being handled by
collectors and museum specialists, the outer skin is
endangered by loss as already stated by
G. C. Boon 65. Whereas gold-foil is more stable
against corrosive soil fluids, silver may be partly or
entirely replaced by corrosion products such as
silver chloride AgCl. The delicate metal foils are
vulnerable to mechanical deformations as well
because the hot shaping produces pressure stress
in some parts of the bead tube and strain in others
that might lead to fissures and fragmentations.

The case of the beads from Bukl

The evidence from structural details of the
Bukl beads can now be combined with the
models discussed above. It seems secure to deduce
that the inner core was produced by some process
involving drawing of an inhomogeneous glass
mass in the molten, but still viscous state. This
accounts for the fibrous structure, the surface
striations on the core glass and the colour
variations observed. A fibrous structure like this
observed on some of the Albanian beads and
many other segmented beads of the period is a
hint that the tube was drawn from a glass mass
that was not well homogenized and still full of gas.
Among the pieces that make up the necklace from
Bukl, there are only a few where the striations
are faint or even absent. The surface striations
are most often limited to the core material and
shine through the smooth thin surface glass layer.
Judging from the colour black-brownish of
the material dispersed on the inner walls of the

63. See E. E. Astrup and A. G. Andersen, A study of metal foiled...

cit. n. 16, p. 225.
64. Some of the Albanian cover layers peeled off and could be
measured under a microscope with a special ocular. We
obtained a thickness between 0,05 mm and 0,1 mm.
65. G. C. Boon, Gold-in-glass beads... cit. n. 33, p. 202.
66. During a study of Merovingian wound beads from different
sites one of the authors (S. G.) often found thick black layers
in the interior of beads. They were confirmed to be hematite
and magnetite by Raman-analysis. These two iron oxides are

perforation and its high absorption capacity for Xrays, it seems quite safe to assume the use of some
instrument like a point or a tapered wire probably
made of iron at least for the last step of
production. The surface of the iron was probably
kept in a corroded state so that the loose corrosion
products acted as a separator on heating. Brick
dust or a clay suspension used by modern bead
makers for a better separation of the finished bead
from the winding wire was not necessary 66.
Whether the next production step would be
the shaping into the rounded segments or if this
step is the last one to follow is not quite clear from
the evidence. At some time during the production
process, the Albanian beads were covered by
metallic silver. The extreme fineness of the metal
layers makes it difficult to imagine how molten
metal would cover the core in such a thin even
skin. Surface tension of a metal melt is so high
that coalescing is more probable than a
spontaneous coating of the core. The application
of metal as a foil seems to be more simple and
economic. The rough and striated structure of the
core offers a surface suitable to hold the thin foil in
place and acts as a good support for the silver
layer. A drying oil could be helpful for fixing, but
it is not absolutely necessary in order to achieve a
satisfactory result.
M. Spear suggests the two-tube process as the
most probable way of production. The evidence of
the Albanian beads from Bukl does not support
this model, but rather the application of glass
powder on the foiled surface with subsequent
careful heating or the dipping into some molten
glass. This conclusion here is based on the
observation that gas inclusions in the outer glass
layers are not elongated in a way that they are in
drawn glasses (see fig. 11b). Another hint is the
fineness of the outer glass layer which amounts
often to only a fraction of one mm. As even the

produced from heating hydrated iron oxides like limonitic

iron-rust. The observation of some black material in
connection with beads has been made by other researchers
as well, see for example E. Denninger, Physikalisch-chemische
Untersuchungen an Glasperlen der Merowingerzeit, in
Fundberichte aus Schwaben, 15, 1959, p. 80-83 or M. Heck,
Chemisch-analytische Untersuchungen an frhmittelalterlichen
Glasperlen, unpublished PhD thesis, University of Darmstadt,
2000.

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When metal meets beads

Susanne G REIFF and Etleva N ALLBANI

longest beads with 5 or 6 roundels are thought to

be only a segment of the originally produced
length, it appears to be difficult to draw a tube
with a wide perforation of 6 or 7 mm in the
interior and walls as thin as 0.06 mm and slip it
over a tube that is only slightly smaller. There are
other bead types with larger string holes and two
layers with similar thickness described in the
literature 67, where the two-tube model could offer
a possible explanation of the structures observed.
At exact which point during the whole process the
segmented shape is produced remains somewhat
unclear. It is also difficult to decide how the
shaping of the beads was accomplished. The
rolling of a softened bead tube on a mould seems
as possible as the use of a special tweezer-like
instrument and we have to wait for further
evidence to decide on this question.
The number of segments amounts to a
maximum of 5, there are many with 2, 3 or 4
segments. There seems to be no connection
between number of segments or length of bead
and type of end finishing broken or ground.

Summary and outlook

The study of the Albanian metal foil beads
yielded a bundle of evidence that helps to
understand how this type of beads has been
produced. When viewing the literature, it seems
that there are many similar beads found on sites
all over Europe, similar both in terms of technique
and chemical composition. According to available
analytical data gathered from the Albanian and
other metal-foil beads, the chemical composition
of this bead type fits very well to compositions of
plant-ash glasses produced in an area where also
Sassanian glassware was produced some time
before. The widespread occurrence of the material
as well as the obvious close similarity of technical
and compositional details suggests a centralized
mass production of metal foil beads. Further
research into millefiori beads is needed, which we
quite often find associated with the segmented
foil-beads. For example how do they fit into this
picture of centralized production with a plant-ash
based glass? How is the composition of vessel
glasses at the same sites?

67. See fig. 1 in M. Spaers review, Gold-glass beads... cit. n. 1.

Reviewing the different models proposed in

the literature, it is obvious that the Albanian beads
are not produced by two-glass tubes one larger
slipped over a smaller one with a foil in between.
The outer layer is not made from a drawn glass
tube as inclusion patterns clearly demonstrate, but
rather produced by dipping the metal-covered
core into a molten glass mass or by applying a fine
glass powder that is subsequently heated to yield a
sort of glaze. The glass recipe used for core and
outer layer is the same. The metal layer is
extremely thin and often destroyed by corrosion
during burial. In some cases the metal layer
exhibits very straight edges (fig. 15) which can not
be accounted for by applying metal in the molten
state. The use of a foil is the only reasonable
explanation for these sharp boundaries. The exact
way of making the typical segmented caterpillarlike shape remains an unsolved question like
many others more. In this respect well-planned
replication experiments could be very helpful.
Only a very detailed inspection of a vaster set
of beads can give us a hint whether all beads with
two layers were produced with a metal foil inbetween. It is not so clear at what time did beadmakers start to use silver instead of gold for
making their composite beads. Another topic
should be to have a closer look at those oliveshaped metal foil beads which are sometimes

Fig. 15 The silver layer often did not cover the whole body of the
bead. Straight edges reveal that indeed a foil was applied instead of
immersing the core into molten metal (lower picture edge corresponds
to 0.9 cm) (S. Greiff).

375

described as blown and compare their chemical

compositions and structure to the here described
bead type. Furthermore, studying the
Merovingian counterparts could be a subject
worth-while to deal with. A lot more analyses are
necessary to complete the picture of metal foil

beads. Despite a lot of questions that still are

unsolved, this case study of Albanian metal foil
beads demonstrates how a close co-operation
between a scientist and an archaeologist might
help to shed some light into past technologies and
trade patterns.
Susanne GREIFF and Etleva NALLBANI