Chronology and Bead Types at Ribe
From Furnace To Flame: A Journey In Glass
Post Office Dig
My first look into the chronology of beads at Ribe, was based on the the article Claus Feveile and Stig Jensen, “Ribe in the 8th and 9th Century: A Contribution to the Archaeological Chronology of the North Western Europe,” Acta Archaeologica, Vol. 71 (2000): 22-24. I used the diagram in the article and the description to make the beads.
Matthew Delvaux’s chronology can help put the beads found at Ribe into a broader regional context. He describes 6 phases in this chronology: Phase 1 (660-700), Phase 2 (700-760), Phase 3 (760-790), Phase 4 (790-820), Phase 5 (820-860), and Phase 6 (860-890).
Consuming Beads: A Tentative Chronology of the Viking Age
This chronology lines up well with the post office dig. I have found it to broadly apply in the Norse, Anglo, and Frankish area and thereby, useful for the creation of original collections of bead strands that seem to fit the times.
I have also found that it is usefully to create categories of beads based on general style/construction characteristics. Besides these categories, there are the broader categories of wrapped, drawn and cut, and off mandrel. And of course, beads often fit into multiple categories.
