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Found in 2019, but only recently uploaded to the Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS) website, this beautiful piece of Roman glass once formed part of a colourful bracelet. It dates to c.AD 50-200 and was discovered in East Riding, Yorkshire, as a chance find by a metal-detectorist.
The D-shaped fragment comprises a translucent blue core and body with a triple cord decoration on its outer edge. The central cord is amber in colour, sandwiched between two similar decorative lines of opaque white and cobalt blue. This decoration penetrates 0.5mm into the main body of the bracelet. By taking measurements of the fragment, it is possible to work out the dimensions of the complete bracelet: with a length of 23mm, a width of 10mm, and a depth of 8mm, the piece would have formed part of a bracelet with an estimated internal diameter of 60mm, and external diameter of 80mm.
Although the bracelet type (Kilbride-Jones type 2Ci) is fairly common – similar finds on the PAS database include YORYM-06A2E2, YORYM-06A2E2, and YORYM-D43C96 – the amber coloration of the central cord is relatively rare, with only about 14 of around 700 examples known.
Other clues about the production of this piece can be found within its make-up: tiny black fragments within the glass are diagnostic features of this type of work, and betray the use of metal tools in forming the shape of the bangle. The glass would have been wound and stretched using iron rods, which left tiny scales embedded in the inner surface of the piece. Where the bracelet has broken into fragments, it is possible to see its cross-section, which reveals internal folds indicating that the winding took place in the first stage of production.
For more information about this fragment, see https://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/record/id/1165215 or search for PUBLIC-7424F8 on the PAS database. For more information on Romano-British glass bangles, see Tatiana Ivleva (2018) ‘Romano-British glass bangles’ (Roman Finds Group, Datasheet 9) and Dr Ivleva’s contribution to CA 341.
The Portable Antiquities Scheme is an initiative to encourage the recording of archaeological objects found by members of the public in England and Wales. For more information on the Scheme, and to browse its database of more than 1.5 million finds, visit www.finds.org.uk.
Text: Rebecca Preedy / Image: Robin Siddle
