Glass and Amber Beads from the Late Roman Iron Age in Scania

Abstract

Glass and amber beads are colourful artefacts that have been much less discussed than other accessories such as fibulae. Like these, the beads were part of the dress that signalled the wearers’ social and economic status. In the article, beads from 25 graves from modern-day Scania, dated to the Roman Iron Age periods C1 and C2, are presented. In many ways they show a varied and unique expression, strengthening the view that the less ostentatious graves in Scania, in comparison with Zealand, are due to a more stable community rather than to a lack of resources.