Blue Bridge Lane
&
Fishergate House
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A total of six mono- and polychrome glass beads, one fragment of polychrome glass bangle, two gaming counters and three pieces of waste glass dating from the Roman to Anglian period were recovered during excavation. The gaming counters were recovered from Period 2 features, while the remaining objects came from Period 3 features apart from a piece of glass-working waste recovered residually from a Period 4 rubbish pit at Fishergate House. The waste glass consisted of misshapen beads forms and hint at glass-working at the site.
The two glass counters were recovered during excavation at Blue Bridge Lane. A small plano-convex black counter was recovered residually from a Period 3 pit (Find no 4195) and a small possibly sub-oval plano-convex counter in opaque white was recovered from Period 2 ditch F43B (Find no 4111). This example appears to have included a marvered inlay now lost. Examples of counters with possible spots are known, although the dots are smaller and considered to be natural discolouration in the glass (Cool and Price 2002, 243). The finds are dated broadly to the 1st to 2nd century AD.
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| Find no 4195; black glass gaming piece | Find no 4111; white glass gaming piece |
A small fragment of polychrome glass bangle was recovered residually from a Period 3 pit F458B (Find no 4198). It consists of a bangle of light blue glass decorated with a twisted cable of opaque yellow and opaque white glass. A single oval spot is preserved on the side of the bangle and consists of a spiral of blue and opaque white marvered glass. As such it can be assigned as a Kilbride-Jones Type 2 and also dates to the 1st to 2nd century.
Find no 4198; glass bangle
Five glass beads and four pieces of possible glass-working waste were recovered from Period 3 contexts with the exception of one fragment recovered residually from a Period 4 pit at Fishergate House.
Four of the beads were monochrome in blue, dark blue, pinkish-brown and light green glass (Find nos 1389, 4165, 4148 and 4235). The blue beads were both annular while the fragment of light green glass, though incomplete appeared to belong to a barrel-shaped bead. The pinkish-brown glass bead was recovered complete by fine-mesh sieving, but measures only 1.5mm in diameter and must be a 'spacer' bead.
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| Bead 4235 | Bead 4235 |
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| Bead 4165 | Bead 4148 |
The single polychrome bead consists of a biconical bead of bubbly blue glass decorated with marvered opaque yellow trails at either end and an applied opaque white zig-zag trail around the body (Find no 4149).
Bead 4149
Three pieces of possible glass-working waste were recovered from Period 3 contexts at Blue Bridge Lane and a fourth residually from a Period 4 pit at Fishergate House. Two pieces are of light-green glass and appear to be malformed wound glass, probably failed beads (Find nos 972 and 6077). Find no 6077 shows signs of having been removed from a larger piece is a semi-liquid state, while Find no 972 has an incomplete perforation and a flared end. In addition to these malformed beads a small spherical globule of light-green glass was recovered from Period 3 cesspit F381B and is likely to be a by-product of glass-working. A small length of possible black glass rod was recovered from Period 3 pit F427B and may relate to bead-making at the site, although black glass is often 'accidental' and secondary to other processes such as ironworking.
Glass-working fragments
This assemblage of waste is small, but these pieces do appear to indicate glass-working at Blue Bridge Lane and can be added to evidence for glass-working recovered from 46-54 Fishergate in the form of misshapen beads (Rogers 1993, 1379). The product at Blue Bridge Lane appears to have been beads, which would have been an easily saleable commodity. The large fragment of raw amber recovered from a Period 3 pit at Blue Bridge Lane is a further possible indicator of bead-making at the site, since it is most likely to have been converted into beads or pendants (see Stone objects). The scale of the industry however, does not appear to be substantial and this craft may have been comparatively casual.
Find No 4195 Period 3 pit F402B C1583B
Plano-convex counter
of black glass. 10mm diameter.
Find No 4198 Period 3 pit F458B C2057B
A small fragment
of glass bangle with a body of light blue glass decorated with a twisted
glass cable of opaque yellow and opaque white glass. Kilbride-Jones Type
2, 1st to 2nd century.
Find No 4111 Period 2 ditch F43B C1163B
A fragment of plano-convex
opaque white gaming counter. Flat base, slightly irregular. Small depression
of lost marvered inlaid glass of unknown colour, elsewhere body pitted with
bubbles. 15.5 x 5.5 x 5.0mm
Find No 4234 Period 3 cesspit F427B C1922B
Fragment of
?black glass rod. 4mm diameter, 3mm.
Find No 4148 Period 3 pit F353B C1449B
Large annular bead
of wound blue glass with streaks and trails of slightly darker blue glass.
Perforation slightly flattened on one side giving an almost D-shaped profile.
20.0 x 11.5mm.
Find No 4149 Period 3 pit F353B C1449B
Biconical polychrome
bead of light blue glass with opaque yellow marvered trail at ends and applied
opaque white zig-zag trail around the body. Body glass bubbly.
Find No 4165 Period 3 pit F381B C1836B
Fragment of large
annular dark blue glass bead. 7.5 x 9.0mm
Find no 1389 Period 3 cesspit F64F C1338F
Fragment of small
light-green barrel-shaped bead. 3.5 x 3.5mm.
Find No 4235 Period 3 pit F458B C1973B
Small pinkish-brown
globular 'spacer' bead. 1.5 x 2.0mm
Find No 4232 Period 3 cesspit F381B C1853B
Spherical globule
of light-green glass. 4mm diameter.
Find No 6077 Period 3 cesspit F442B C1951B
Malformed, wound
possibly annular bead of light-green glass. One end of bead shows signs of
removal from larger piece.
Find No 972 residual in Period 4 pit F129F C1317F
Malformed,
wound possibly cylindrical light-green glass with incomplete perforation,
flared at one end.
see also:
apc > monographs > blue bridge lane & fishergate house > artefacts & environmental > glass
