Making and trading: An analysis of Merovingian beads from the Sittard-Kemperkoul burial ground. Chemical analyses and micro-CT scanning were used to analyse a set of c. 725 glass beads from a single Merovingian burial (number 11) in the Sittard-Kemperkoul burial ground (Sittard-Geleen, province of Limburg). Chemical analyses of the small, opaque, yellow beads that make up the majority of the collection showed that they were, in fact, not made of glass. Rather, they were made by fusing a lead-tin-based yellow colourant with quartz. For black beads, iron was added to this mixture. The other beads were made from glass – probably of re-used Roman origin – with various colourants. The micro-CT scans provided an unrivalled image of the various manufacturing techniques that were used to make the more complex, polychrome beads.
