BEAD

A copper-alloy biconical bead of sub-circular to oval shape dating to the Bronze Age, probably middle Bronze Age to early Iron Age. This bead weighs 6.78g. It measures 15.9mm x 14.7mm transversely across the perforation and has a 'height', on the same axis as the perforation, of 9.9mm. The external surfaces of the bead are smooth, polished and undecorated. One side has a small irregular shaped depression at the mid point in the height. This area measures 4.7mm x height 3.1mm and is probably most likely to be the result of a casting imperfection rather than post-production damage.

The perforation is circular in shape with a diameter of 4.9mm on one side. On the opposing side the perforation has a diameter of 5.6mm. Much of the internal perforation wall is cylindrical with relatively vertical sides. However, on the side where there is an external surface depression, the perforation wall is significantly concave. This considerably reduces the thickness of the bead's wall at this location. An area of approximately 1.3mm diameter is so thin that it must have almost broken through to form a hole.

The metal is a relatively dark colour. XRF anaylsis (uncalibrated) confirms the presence of: Tin - 39.5%, Copper - 33.4%, Antimony - 9.8%, Lead - 8.3%, Iron - 7.1%, Arsenic - 1.2%, Silver - 0.8%.