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Anglo-Saxon beads are important as, along with cruciform brooches, they are among the most studied and datable of all the objects found in Anglo-Saxon graves, made useful by their long date-range and by them being the most numerous objects found with Anglo-Saxon burials.
Recent years have seen great advances in the study of early medieval beads. Pioneering work was carried out by Margaret Guido (see her book The Glass Beads of Anglo-Saxon England, c.AD 400-700, published in 1999), but advances in computer technology and the use of correspondence analysis allowed Birte Brugmann (see her book Glass Beads from Early Anglo-Saxon Graves, published in 2004) to adopt a more systematic approach towards their classification and dating, which included comparisons with material from dated Continental graves. In 2013, John Hines and Alex Bayliss included beads in their systematic study of 6th- and 7th-century graves, but their work did not include earlier burials (see Anglo-Saxon Graves and Grave Goods of the 6th and 7th centuries AD: a chronological framework).
Sue Heaser’s typo-technological study is a welcome addition to our knowledge of Anglo-Saxon beads. Profusely illustrated with colour photographs of each type, it provides an important guide to this varied and complex material. The writer has proposed her own classification but usefully includes previous ones, too, linking this publication with earlier work. Dates are given and excavated parallels cited for each bead type.
Where this book adds to our knowledge is its analysis of how glass beads were made, based on Heaser’s examination of many groups and her experimental work with heated glass. The processes are demonstrated by her own colour illustrations, showing the ingenious methods used to produce the often-complex coloured patterns we now see.
This book includes a visual index, helpful when one is unsure what one is looking at, and covers, in a comprehensive and usable way, this large and important group of inherently pretty objects. What’s not to like?
REVIEW BY KEVIN LEAHY
Anglo-Saxon Beads, 400-700 AD: a visual guide to types and techniques
Sue Heaser
Farthings Publishing, £39.95
ISBN 979-8282456677
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