Archaeologia Islandica - 01.01.2007, Page 31

Medieval and early modern Beads from Iceland
suggested here. Most of the glass beads
probably came from Venice and then later
also from Amsterdam and Bohemia. The
amber is likely predominantly from the
Baltic, particularly from the Kaliningrad
area and was probably mostly worked in
central and north eastem European amber
workshops such as in Bruges, Lubeck
and Danzig. Most of the earlier jet beads
are likely to have originated in northwest
Spain, close to the Santiago de Compost-
ela. Some of the later jet beads (fróm later
19th century) might be from Whitby in
England but even if some of the later jet
beads might have been worked in Whit-
by, the jet could well have originated in
northwest Spain. Most of the stone beads
were either made of agate or jasper, both
of which were very likely worked in Idar-
Oberstein in westem Germany. The oldest
of the material might also have originated
there but the later beads were possibly
worked from raw material imported from
Brazil. To sum up it can be said that most
of the beads found in Iceland in medieval
and early modern times probably originat-
ed in Europe, largely from south, central
and eastern Europe (Figure 6). How these
beads traveled to Iceland is more difficult
to say but further research into compa-
rable material could help shed a light on
trade patterns.
Further excavation of farms and
other sites of various function and status
as well as further research into both the
specific context of the beads and their
material might help answer questions,
such as about the social context of bead
use, what meaning was attached to own-
ing and wearing beads, if they were most-
ly regarded as decorative objects and as
such served as a status items or if they
still had religious connotations after the
Reformation. All of the excavated beads
from medieval and early modern Iceland
were excavated after 1950 and close to
90% of the excavated beads have come
from excavations that have taken place
since 1980. If this trend continues the
amount of excavated beads from later
centuries could multiply in the next few
decades and alongside it the potential
insight we could gain into the use and
meaning of beads in Icelandic society
during this long period.
Acknowledgements
The research on which this paper was
based was helped by many individuals
and institutions, and could not have been
possible without their generous assist-
ance. Special thanks goes to: Fornleifa-
stofnun íslands; Fornleifafræðistofan;
Hólar Research; Reykjavík City Museum
and Steinunn Kristjánsdóttir for allow-
ing me access to material, often from
recent or ongoing projects. The National
Museum of Iceland provided me access
to beads from older excavations and stray
finds and I thank them for their time and
effort. I would also like to thank Dr. Fra-
ser Hunter at the National Museum of
Scotland who shared with me some of his
knowledge and references on jet and Orri
Vésteinsson who read over a draft of the
paper, providing his usual, incisive com-
ments. Lastly I would like to thank the
editor, Gavin Lucas, for his unflagging
support and critical reading of the paper.
References
Armstrong, R and Ayers B. (1987) Exca-
vation in High Street and Blackfriar-
gate. Hull Old Town Report Series nr.
5. East Riding Archaeologist Vol. 8.
Baart, Jan. (1988) “Glass Beads Sites in
Amsterdam”. Historical Archaeology.
Vol. 22.
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