Museum of Moscow

Three-part gold-glass bead. II-IV centuries AD

A gold-glass bead (MM OF-29395/1131) is one of the finds of N.A. Krenke, made during the excavations of the Dyakov settlement in 1983. It originates from the middle horizon of the upper layer of the monument together with materials from the late Dyakian time, that is, from the first centuries of the 1st millennium AD. There were also found beads made of glass with a gold lining (sometimes with silver added to the foil). This is the most numerous type of beads found on the site. Most often, they are just round single beads, but there are two-, three- and four-piece beads. This bead belongs to three parts. According to the research by O.S. Rumyantsev, glass for beads is made on the basis of natural soda and probably comes from the centers of the Eastern Mediterranean. Antimony was used to discolor it.

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