REPRINTED FROM

JOURNAL OF GLASS STUDIES

VOLUME 56 2014

Renta Pichystalov, Jindich telcl, and Vclav Vvra

Glass Beads and Buttons

from the Southern Suburb
of the Beclav-Pohansko Stronghold

Copyright 2014 by The Corning Museum of Glass, Corning, NY 14830-2253

Glass Beads and Buttons

from the Southern Suburb
of the Beclav-Pohansko Stronghold
Renta Pichystalov, Jindich telcl, and Vclav Vvra

HE GREAT MORAVIAN stronghold of

Beclav-Pohansko lies, about three kilometers south of Beclavs town center, in
alluvial woodlands about 15 kilometers north
of the conluence of the Morava and Dyje Rivers
(Figs. 1 and 2). The site has been continuously
examined since 1959 under the direction of the
Department of Prehistory of the Faculty of Arts
at J. E. Purkyn University in Brno (now known
as the Department of Archaeology and Museology, Faculty of Arts, Masaryk University).
This archaeological site was a lowland stronghold. The oval fortiication at Pohansko, which
was built during the ninth century, protects an
area of 28 hectares.1 Suburbs were situated on
its northeastern and southern sides.2 The smaller
(2.5 hectares) and better-protected suburb lies

at the upper end of the stronghold. The current

excavation in this area has already unearthed a
second Great Moravian stone church.3 The irst
Christian stone building was found in the area
of the so-called Manor Court inside the fortiication.4
The southern suburb is the better-surveyed
part of the Beclav-Pohansko stronghold. About
nine hectares were exposed during the excavation campaigns of 1962, 19751979, and 1991
1994, which covered roughly 30 to 40 percent
of the area occupied by the suburb (the total
settlement area is estimated to be 24 hectares).5
Glass beads and buttons were found in and
around the southern suburb, and they are discussed in detail in this article. All 14 of these
items were parts of funerary equipment (Table

Acknowledgments. This article, which was translated by Jana

Kliov, was supported by the Grant Agency of the Czech Republic. Supported project: Between Great and Pemyslid Moravia. The Archaeology of the Collapse and Recovery of Early
Medieval Society (GAP405/12/0111). The research was conducted at the Central European Institute of Technology (CEITEC) in
Brno as project CZ.1.05/1.1.00/02.0068, inanced from European Regional Development Fund. The article was also supported by the University Development Fund, Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports Czech Republic. Supported project:
MSM 0021622427 Interdisciplinary Center for Research into
Prehistoric to High Medieval Social Structures. Archaeological
Field Investigation and Theoretical Research, Application of
Natural Science, Methodology, Computing, and the Protection
of the Cultural Heritage.
1. Ji Machek, Pohansko u Beclavi/Lundenburg, in
Stred Eurpy okolo roku 1000: Historick, umeleckohistorick
a archeologick tdie a katalg kvstave, ed. Alfried Wieczorek and others, Prague: Nakladatelstv Lidov Noviny, 2002,
p. 115.

2. Petr Dresler, Opevnn Pohanska u Beclavi, Brno: Masarykova Univerzita, 2011, pp. 3233, igs. 47 and 48.
3. Pavel p and others, Grossmhrische Kirchen in Pohansko bei Beclav, in Frhmittelalterliche Kirchen als archologische und historische Quelle, Internationale Tagungen in
Mikulice, v. 8, ed. Lumr Polek and others, Brno: Archologisches Institut der Akademie Wissenschaften der Tschechischen
Republik, 2010, pp. 187204.
4. Boivoj Dostl, Beclav-Pohansko, v. 4, Velkomoravsk
velmosk dvorec, Brno: Universita J. E. Purkyn, 1975.
5. Petr Dresler and Ji Machek, Beclav-Pohansko: Stav
a zpracovn vzkum pedhrad = Beclav-Pohansko: Zustand
und Bearbeitung der Untersuchung der Vorburg, in Archeologie doby hraditn vesk a Slovensk republice = Archaeologia Mediaevalis Moravica et Silesiana, supp. 2, ed. Petr Dresler
and others, Brno: Masarykova Univerzita, 2007, pp. 5461,
esp. p. 55.

37

FIG. 1. Map of Czech Republic and Slovak Republic,

showing Beclav-Pohansko stronghold and other important Great Moravian sites. (Map: Ji Grnseisen)
FIG. 2. Overview of locations at Pohansko, near Beclav, examined between 1959 and 2009: (1) northeastern suburb, (2) Manor Court, (3) Forest Nursery, (4)
excavation trenches cutting through rampart and
eastern gate, (5) Trench 2 at the little lake, (6) Cremation Graveyard, (7) Forest Dune, (8) excavation
trench in front of hunting chteau, and (9) southern
suburb. (Drawing: Ji Grnseisen)

38

JP/177 (sample 13), and JP/202 (sample 14).

Some of these beads and buttons were selected
for chemical analysis.

1). Beads were found in Graves JP/022 (samples

14), JP/028 (sample 5), JP/065 (samples 6 and
7), and JP/172 (samples 811). Buttons were
among the goods in Graves JP/072 (sample 12),

TABLE 1
Glass Beads and Buttons Submitted for Chemical Analysis

Sample No. Inventory No. Grave No.

Group
of Glass

Picture

Length/Diameter
(in cm)

P38302

JP/022

0.2/0.3

P38302

JP/022

1.1/0.35

P38302

JP/022

1.7/0.9

P38302

JP/022

1.9/0.5

P38327

JP/028

0.8/0.7

P144713

JP/065

0.85/0.8

P144715

JP/065

1.4/0.6

P165038/1

JP/172

0.35/0.8

P165038/2

JP/172

0.9/1.06

10

P165038/3

JP/172

1.3/0.8

11

P165038/4

JP/172

1.3/0.5

12

P144735

JP/072

1.8/1.2

13

P165051

JP/177

1.9/1.3

14

P204397

JP/202

0.8/1.6

39

FIG. 3. Beclav-Pohansko, southern suburb, Grave JP/022: (1) inv.

no. P38302 and (2) inv. no. P308303.

DESCRIPTION OF GRAVES
CONTAINING GLASS BEADS
JP/022 (Fig. 3)
Beclav-Pohansko, southern suburb, year
1962. Square L 16-74. Anthropological determination: child, about 10 years. Rectangular pit
(L. 185 cm, W. 90 cm, D. 75 cm), orientation
NNWSSE. Dislocated skeleton, originally probably in extended supine position, with skull lying
on right temple. Thirty glass beads (27 of them
complete) were found in upper part of chest between dislocated bones; below hip joint of right
femur were fragments of bronze or copper band
ring.
Description of inds:
1. Necklace of 27 complete and three fragmentary glass beads. Nineteen transversely segmented beads: one bead segmented seven times,
one bead segmented six times, nine beads segmented four times, seven beads segmented three
40

times, and one bead segmented two times; two

cylindrical cut green beads; six small dark blue
discoid beads. One small bronze tube from bead
and fragments of two beads not preserved. Inv.
no. P38302. Table 1, nos. 14; Table 2, nos.
127.
2. Fragments of undecorated bronze or copper band ring. Inv. no. P308303.

JP/028 (Fig. 4)
Beclav-Pohansko, southern suburb, year
1962. Square L 30-93. Anthropological determination: female, 19 or 20 years. Rectangular pit
(L. 190 cm, W. 70 cm, D. 20 cm), orientation
SWNE. Skeleton in extended supine position,
with skull lying on left temple. On left side below ribs, between spine and elbow of left arm,
were eight olive-shaped green beads threaded
on thin wire (as noted in the documentation of
the excavation; only four beads and fragments
of wire are preserved); under skull on right side
were three bronze earrings of Danubian type,

FIG. 4. Beclav-Pohansko, southern suburb, Grave JP/028: (16)

inv. no. P38321P38326 and (7, 8) inv. no. P38327.

and another three earrings were found on left

side of skull.
Description of inds:
1. Beads. Only four olive-shaped green beads
are preserved, threaded on iron wire; two pieces
are preserved in entirety, and other two are damaged. L. 0.60.8 cm, D. (max.) 0.60.7 cm. Inv.
no. P38327. Table 1, no. 5; Table 2, nos. 2831.
2. Six bronze wire earrings; two pieces had
double-sided spiral-shaped cylindrical pendant;
one earring had tubular sheet-metal pendant;
other pieces are in very poor condition. Inv. no.
P38321P38326.

JP/065 (Fig. 5)
Beclav-Pohansko, southern suburb, year
1976. Square O 91-2. Anthropological determination: female, 4555 years. Rectangular pit (L.
205 cm, W. 62 cm, D. 37 cm), orientation NW
SE. Skeleton in extended supine position, with
skull lying on left temple. In upper part of chest,
below mandible, were three glass beads (only

FIG. 5. Beclav-Pohansko, southern suburb, Grave

JP/065: (1) inv. no. P144714, (2) inv. no. P144715,
and (3) inv. no. P144713.

41

temple. In upper part of chest was blue glass

button with metal loop.
Description of inds:
1. Small globular dark blue glass button, with
rusted iron loop. Inv. no. P144735. Table 1, no.
12; Table 2, no. 34.

JP/172 (Fig. 7)
Beclav-Pohansko, southern suburb, year
1978. Square O 33-8. Anthropological determination: female, 2430 years. Oval pit (L. 180 cm,
W. 67 cm, D. 24 cm), orientation SN. Skeleton
in extended supine position, with left arm bent
at right angle and lying across lumbar spine,
and skull lying on base. Near right temple was
bronze earring; in upper part of chest were
fragments of necklace composed of glass beads
and metal pendants; near right foot was vessel.
FIG. 6. Beclav-Pohansko, southern suburb, Grave
JP/072: (1) inv. no. P144735.

two of them are preserved; third one crumbled

and is not described in detail); near right hand
were remains of iron knife.
Description of inds:
1. Drawn-glass blue bead, transversely segmented three times. Inv. no. P144715. Table 1,
no. 7; Table 2, no. 33.
2. Olive-shaped dark green bead, longitudinally segmented three times, with metal tube in
hole. Inv. no. P144713. Table 1, no. 6; Table 2,
no. 32.
3. Heavily damaged small knife with welldistinguished tang. Inv. no. P144714.

JP/072 (Fig. 6)
Beclav-Pohansko, southern suburb, year
1976. Square O 89-3. Anthropological determination: child, 11.5 years. Oval pit (L. 100 cm,
W. 50 cm, D. 13 cm), orientation NWSE. Skeleton in extended supine position, with dislocated
chest and arm bones, and skull lying on left
42

Description of inds:
1. Necklace composed of various artifacts:
four glass beads, one bronze object in form of
lattened spool, and two bent bronze or copper
sheets. Beads: discoid transparent blue glass
bead with large hole; damaged globular bead of
reddish brown glass resembling ceramic paste;
extensively rusted cylindrical bead originally of
black glass, decorated with yellow glass spiral;
cylindrical bead of yellowish brown to olivegreen glass, transversely segmented four times.
Inv. no. P165038. Table 1, nos. 811; Table 2,
nos. 3538.
2. Fragment of small, ring-shaped bronze
earring with preserved knot on hoop. Inv. no.
P165037.
3. Slender vase-shaped vessel decorated with
diagonal indentations on neck and grooves on
upper part of shoulder. Inv. no. P165036.

JP/177 (Fig. 8)
Beclav-Pohansko, southern suburb, year
1978. Square O 35-7. Anthropological determination: child, age unspeciied. Rectangular
pit (L. 100 cm, W. 40 cm, D. 7 cm), orientation

FIG. 7. Beclav-Pohansko, southern suburb, Grave JP/172: (1) inv.

no. P165037, (2) inv. no. P165036, (3) inv. no. P165038/1, (4) inv. no.
P165038/2, (5) inv. no. P165038/3, (6) inv. no. P165038/4, (7) inv.
no. P165038/5, (8) inv. no. P165038/6, and (9) inv. no. P165038/7.

FIG. 8. Beclav-Pohansko, southern suburb, Grave JP/177: (1) inv.

no. P165052/1-2, (2) inv. no. P165051, (3) inv. no. P165050/1,
and (4) inv. no. P165050/2.

43

FIG. 9. Beclav-Pohansko, southern suburb, Grave JP/202: (1) inv.

no. P204397, (2) inv. no. P204396, and (3) inv. no. P204398/1-2.

NWSE. Position of skeleton is unidentiiable;

only skull bones preserved. To left of skull was
iron knife; near skull were fragments of two
small globular iron bells and glass button.
Description of inds:
1. Globular dark brown glass button, with
damaged iron loop. Inv. no. P165051. Table 1,
no. 13; Table 2, no. 39.
2. Two fragments of iron knife with straight
back and well-distinguished tang. Inv. no.
P165052.
3. Half of small globular iron bell with rims
hammered lat into triangular shape; fragment
of similar bell with broken-of loop. Inv. no.
P165050.

JP/202 (Fig. 9)
Beclav-Pohansko, southern suburb, year
1991. Square C 95-55. Anthropological deter-

44

mination: child, three years. Rectangular pit (L.

132 cm, W. 72 cm, D. 11 cm), orientation NW
SE. Skeletons original position probably supine;
chest and bones in extremities are dislocated.
Original position of grave goods is also unidentiiable; childs grave contained glass button,
glass pebble, and fragments of bronze band ring.
Description of inds:
1. Recently damaged discoid button of transparent whitish glass, with corroded iron loop.
Inv. no. P204397. Table 1, no. 14; Table 2, no.
40.
2. Piece of glass of uneven globular shape,
with rust marks on surface (remnants of corroded button loop?). Inv. no. P204396.
3. Fragment of band ring decorated with embossed ornament (made by stamping) in two
zones: at rims of hoop and in center; ornament
consists of two lines of small points. Inv. no.
P204398.

TABLE 2
Glass Artifacts from Graves in Southern Suburb of Beclav-Pohansko

Inv. No. Research year Grave No. Item Material Preservation degree Form Color
Decoration Length (L.), Width (W.) Hole diameter (D.) Metal tube Swells Position in grave
pit Comment
1

Inv. No.: P38302/1; Research year: 1962; Grave No.: JP/022; bead; Material: glass/metal; Preservation
degree: complete, with damage; Form: transversely segmented, cylindrical; Color: transparent greenish;
L. (max.) 1.7 cm, W. (max.) 0.9 cm; Hole D. 0.3 cm; Metal tube: yes; Swells: 4; Position in grave pit:
neck

Inv. No.: P38302/2; Research year: 1962; Grave No.: JP/022; bead; Material: glass/metal; Preservation
degree: complete; Form: transversely segmented, cylindrical; Color: transparent greenish; L. (max.) 1.7
cm, W. (max.) 0.8 cm; Hole D. 0.3 cm; Metal tube: yes; Swells: 4; Position in grave pit: neck

Inv. No.: P38302/3; Research year: 1962; Grave No.: JP/022; bead; Material: glass/metal; Preservation
degree: complete; Form: transversely segmented, cylindrical; Color: transparent greenish; L. (max.) 1.7
cm, W. (max.) 0.9 cm; Hole D. 0.2 cm; Metal tube: yes; Swells: 4; Position in grave pit: neck

Inv. No.: P38302/4; Research year: 1962; Grave No.: JP/022; bead; Material: glass/metal; Preservation
degree: complete; Form: transversely segmented, cylindrical; Color: transparent greenish; L. (max.) 2.0
cm, W. (max.) 0.55 cm; Hole D. 0.1 cm; Metal tube: yes; Swells: 6; Position in grave pit: neck

Inv. No.: P38302/5; Research year: 1962; Grave No.: JP/022; bead; Material: glass; Preservation degree:
complete, with damage; Form: transversely segmented, cylindrical; Color: pearly greenish; L. (max.)
1.9 cm, W. (max.) 0.5 cm; Hole D. 0.1 cm; Metal tube: no; Swells: 7; Position in grave pit:
neck; Comment: double-shell bead

Inv. No.: P38302/6; Research year: 1962; Grave No.: JP/022; bead; Material: glass; Preservation degree:
complete; Form: transversely segmented, cylindrical; Color: pearly greenish; L. (max.) 1.3 cm, W. (max.)
0.6 cm; Hole D. 0.1 cm; Metal tube: no; Swells: 4; Position in grave pit: neck; Comment: double-shell
bead

Inv. No.: P38302/7; Research year: 1962; Grave No.: JP/022; bead; Material: glass; Preservation degree:
complete; Form: transversely segmented, cylindrical; Color: pearly greenish; L. (max.) 1.5 cm, W. (max.)
0.5 cm; Hole D. 0.1 cm; Metal tube: no; Swells: 4; Position in grave pit: neck; Comment: double-shell
bead

Inv. No.: P38302/8; Research year: 1962; Grave No.: JP/022; bead; Material: glass; Preservation degree:
complete; Form: transversely segmented, cylindrical; Color: transparent greenish; L. (max.) 1.2 cm, W.
(max.) 0.5 cm; Hole D. 0.2 cm; Metal tube: no; Swells: 4; Position in grave pit: neck

Inv. No.: P38302/9; Research year: 1962; Grave No.: JP/022; bead; Material: glass; Preservation degree:
complete; Form: transversely segmented, cylindrical; Color: pearly greenish; L. (max.) 1.4 cm, W. (max.)
0.5 cm; Hole D. 0.2 cm; Metal tube: no; Swells: 4; Position in grave pit: neck; Comment: double-shell
bead

10

Inv. No.: P38302/10; Research year: 1962; Grave No.: JP/022; bead; Material: glass; Preservation
degree: complete; Form: transversely segmented, cylindrical; Color: pearly greenish; L. (max.) 1.2 cm,
W. (max.) 0.5 cm; Hole D. 0.2 cm; Metal tube: no; Swells: 4; Position in grave pit: neck; Comment:
double-shell bead

45

TABLE 2 (cont.)
11

Inv. No.: P38302/11; Research year: 1962; Grave No.: JP/022; bead; Material: glass; Preservation
degree: complete, with damage; Form: transversely segmented, cylindrical; Color: pearly greenish;
L. (max.) 1.2 cm, W. (max.) 0.5 cm; Hole D. 0.2 cm; Metal tube: no; Swells: 4; Position in grave pit:
neck; Comment: double-shell bead

12

Inv. No.: P38302/12; Research year: 1962; Grave No.: JP/022; bead; Material: glass; Preservation
degree: complete; Form: transversely segmented, cylindrical; Color: pearly greenish; L. (max.) 1.2 cm,
W. (max.) 0.5 cm; Hole D. 0.15 cm; Metal tube: no; Swells: 3; Position in grave pit: neck; Comment:
double-shell bead

13

Inv. No.: P38302/13; Research year: 1962; Grave No.: JP/022; bead; Material: glass; Preservation
degree: complete, Form: transversely segmented, cylindrical; Color: pearly greenish; L. (max.) 0.95 cm,
W. (max.) 0.55 cm; Hole D. 0.1 cm; Metal tube: no; Swells: 3; Position in grave pit: neck; Comment:
spiral-shaped bead end (unevenness resulted from cutting of glass cane); double-shell bead

14

Inv. No.: P38302/14; Research year: 1962; Grave No.: JP/022; bead; Material: glass; Preservation
degree: complete; Form: transversely segmented, cylindrical; Color: pearly greenish; L. (max.) 1.0 cm,
W. (max.) 0.55 cm; Hole D. 0.3 cm; Metal tube: no; Swells: 3; Position in grave pit: neck; Comment:
double-shell bead

15

Inv. No.: P38302/15; Research year: 1962; Grave No.: JP/022; bead; Material: glass; Preservation
degree: complete; Form: transversely segmented, cylindrical; Color: pearly greenish; L. (max.) 0.95 cm,
W. (max.) 0.55 cm; Hole D. 0.15 cm; Metal tube: no; Swells: 3; Position in grave pit: neck; Comment:
double-shell bead

16

Inv. No.: P38302/16; Research year: 1962; Grave No.: JP/022; bead; Material: glass; Preservation
degree: complete; Form: transversely segmented, cylindrical; Color: pearly greenish; L. (max.) 1.1 cm,
W. (max.) 0.5 cm; Hole D. 0.1 cm; Metal tube: no; Swells: 3; Position in grave pit: neck; Comment:
double-shell bead

17

Inv. No.: P38302/17, Research year: 1962; Grave No.: JP/022; bead; Material: glass; Preservation
degree: complete; Form: transversely segmented, cylindrical; Color: pearly greenish; L. (max.) 0.8 cm,
W. (max.) 0.5 cm; Hole D. 0.1 cm; Metal tube: no; Swells: 3; Position in grave pit: neck; Comment:
double-shell bead

18

Inv. No.: P38302/18; Research year: 1962; Grave No.: JP/022; bead; Material: glass; Preservation
degree: complete; Form: transversely segmented, cylindrical; Color: pearly greenish; L. (max.) 1.0 cm,
W. (max.) 0.5 cm; Hole D. 0.2 cm; Metal tube: no; Swells: 3; Position in grave pit: neck; Comment:
double-shell bead

19

Inv. No.: P38302/19; Research year: 1962; Grave No.: JP/022; bead; Material: glass; Preservation
degree: complete(?); Form: transversely segmented, cylindrical; Color: pearly greenish; L. (max.) 0.8 cm,
W. (max.) 0.5 cm; Hole D. 0.15 cm; Metal tube: no; Swells: 2; Position in grave pit: neck; Comment:
double-shell bead

20

Inv. No.: P38302/20; Research year: 1962; Grave No.: JP/022; bead; Material: glass; Preservation
degree: complete; Form: cylindrical; Color: green; L. (max.) 0.8 cm, W. (max.) 0.35 cm; Hole D. 0.05
cm; Metal tube: no; Position in grave pit: neck; Comment: chopped glass

46

TABLE 2 (cont.)
21

Inv. No.: P38302/21; Research year: 1962; Grave No.: JP/022; bead; Material: glass; Preservation
degree: complete; Form: cylindrical; Color: green; L. (max.) 1.1 cm, W. (max.) 0.35 cm; Hole D. 0.05
cm; Metal tube: no; Position in grave pit: neck; Comment: chopped glass

22

Inv. No.: P38302/22; Research year: 1962; Grave No.: JP/022; bead; Material: glass; Preservation
degree: complete; Form: discoid; Color: dark blue; L. (max.) 0.15 cm, W. (max.) 0.3 cm; Hole D. 0.1
cm; Metal tube: no; Position in grave pit: neck

23

Inv. No.: P38302/23; Research year: 1962; Grave No.: JP/022; bead; Material: glass; Preservation
degree: complete; Form: discoid; Color: dark blue; L. (max.) 0.2 cm, W. (max.) 0.3 cm; Hole D. 0.1 cm;
Metal tube: no; Position in grave pit: neck

24

Inv. No.: P38302/24; Research year: 1962; Grave No.: JP/022; bead; Material: glass; Preservation
degree: complete; Form: discoid; Color: dark blue; L. (max.) 0.2 cm, W. (max.) 0.3 cm; Hole D. 0.1 cm;
Metal tube: no; Position in grave pit: neck

25

Inv. No.: P38302/25; Research year: 1962; Grave No.: JP/022; bead; Material: glass; Preservation
degree: complete; Form: discoid; Color: dark blue; L. (max.) 0.2 cm, W. (max.) 0.3 cm; Hole D. 0.08
cm; Metal tube: no; Position in grave pit: neck

26

Inv. No.: P38302/26; Research year: 1962; Grave No.: JP/022; bead; Material: glass; Preservation
degree: complete; Form: discoid; Color: dark blue; L. (max.) 0.2 cm, W. (max.) 0.2 cm; Hole D. 0.08
cm; Metal tube: no; Position in grave pit: neck

27

Inv. No.: P38302/27; Research year: 1962; Grave No.: JP/022; bead; Material: glass; Preservation
degree: complete; Form: discoid; Color: dark blue; L. (max.) 0.2 cm, W. (max.) 0.23 cm; Hole D. 0.1
cm; Metal tube: no; Position in grave pit: neck

28

Inv. No.: P38327/1; Research year: 1962; Grave No.: JP/028; bead; Material: glass; Preservation degree:
complete; Form: plain olive-shaped; Color: green; L. (max.) 0.7 cm, W. (max.) 0.7 cm; Hole D. ? cm;
Metal tube: no; Position in grave pit: chest; Comment: threaded on corroded iron stick (D. 0.3 cm)

29

Inv. No.: P38327/2; Research year: 1962; Grave No.: JP/028; bead; Material: glass; Preservation degree:
complete, with damage; Form: plain olive-shaped; Color: green; L. (max.) 0.8 cm, W. (max.) 0.7 cm;
Hole D. ? cm; Metal tube: no; Position in grave pit: chest; Comment: threaded on corroded iron stick
(D. 0.25 cm)

30

Inv. No.: P38327/3; Research year: 1962; Grave No.: JP/028; bead; Material: glass; Preservation degree:
complete; Form: plain olive-shaped; Color: green; L. (max.) 0.6 cm, W. (max.) 0.6 cm; Hole D. ? cm;
Metal tube: no; Position in grave pit: chest; Comment: threaded on corroded iron stick (D. 0.3 cm)

31

Inv. No.: P38327/4; Research year: 1962; Grave No.: JP/028; bead; Material: glass; Preservation degree:
complete, with damage; Form: plain olive-shaped; Color: green; L. (max.) 0.7 cm, W. (max.) 0.6 cm;
Hole D. ? cm; Metal tube: no; Position in grave pit: chest; Comment: threaded on corroded iron stick
(D. 0.2 cm)

32

Inv. No.: P144713; Research year: 1976; Grave No.: JP/065; bead; Material: glass/metal; Preservation
degree: complete; Form: olive-shaped, longitudinally segmented; Color: dark green; L. (max.) 0.85 cm,
W. (max.) 0.8 cm; Hole D. 0.2 cm; Metal tube: yes; Swells: 3; Position in grave pit: chest

47

TABLE 2 (cont.)
33

Inv. No.: P144715; Research year: 1976; Grave No.: JP/065; bead; Material: glass; Preservation degree:
complete; Form: transversely segmented, cylindrical; Color: turquoise; L. (max.) 1.4 cm, W. (max.) 0.6
cm; Hole D. 0.2 cm; Metal tube: no; Swells: 3; Position in grave pit: chest

34

Inv. No.: P144735; Research year: 1976; Grave No.: JP/072; button; Material: glass/metal; Preservation
degree: complete; Form: globular; Color: dark blue; L. (max.) 1.8 cm, W. (max.) 1.2 cm; Position in
grave pit: chest; Comment: heavily corroded metal shank (L. 1.0 cm)

35

Inv. No.: P165038/1; Research year: 1978; Grave No.: JP/172; bead; Material: glass; Preservation
degree: complete; Form: discoid; Color: dark blue; L. (max.) 0.35 cm, W. (max.) 0.8 cm; Hole D. 0.4
cm; Metal tube: no; Position in grave pit: right and left shoulder

36

Inv. No.: P165038/2; Research year: 1978; Grave No.: JP/172; bead; Material: glass; Preservation
degree: complete, with damage; Form: globular; Color: red-brown; L. (max.) 0.9 cm, W. (max.) 1.06
cm; Hole D. 0.37 cm; Metal tube: no; Position in grave pit: right and left shoulder; Comment: doubleshell bead

37

Inv. No.: P165038/3; Research year: 1978; Grave No.: JP/172; bead; Material: glass; Preservation
degree: complete, with damage; Form: transversely segmented, cylindrical; Color: olive-green; L. (max.)
1.3 cm; W. (max.) 0.8 cm; Hole D. 0.2 cm; Metal tube: no; Swells: 4; Position in grave pit: right and left
shoulder; Comment: double-shell bead

38

Inv. No.: P165038/4; Research year: 1978; Grave No.: JP/172; bead; Material: glass; Preservation
degree: complete, with damage; Form: cylindrical, with applied thread; Color: black/light yellow; Decoration: helical; L. (max.) 1.3 cm, W. (max.) 0.5 cm; Hole D. 0.15 cm; Metal tube: no; Position in grave
pit: right and left shoulder; Comment: helix-like coiled light yellow thread

39

Inv. No.: P165051; Research year: 1978; Grave No.: JP/177; button; Material: glass/metal; Preservation
degree: complete; Form: globular; Color: gray-green; L. (max.) 1.9 cm, W. (max.) 1.3 cm; Position in
grave pit: between left arm and wall of grave pit; Comment: heavily corroded metal shank (L. 0.5 cm)

40

Inv. No.: P204397; Research year: 1991; Grave No.: JP/202; button; Material: glass/metal; Preservation degree: reconstructible fragment; Form: discoid; Color: transparent whitish; L. (max.) 0.8 cm,
W. (max.) 1.2 cm; Position in grave pit: ?; Comment: heavily corroded metal shank (L. 1.0 cm); shank
was breakaway

CHEMICAL ANALYSES
Selected glass items from the southern suburb were chemically analyzed and imaged using a scanning electron microscope (JEOL JSM6490LV) with an attached energy-dispersive
X-ray (EDX) analyzer. Square areas with sides
about 2 m long were examined, and spot analyses of tiny inclusions were conducted. The live
time of collecting an EDX spectrum was 60 seconds. Because of the historical value of the objects scanned, it was, in most cases, not possible
48

to mechanically remove the eroded surface layer. For this reason, the analyses were executed,
where possible, on those parts of the glass beads
that were not visually afected by erosion. Particular places were chosen with the help of an
electron microscope. For a detailed veriication
of the double-shell structure of the beads, selected samples were ground and polished on the
transverse cross section.

Classiication and Results

Many authors have recently published interesting articles about the chemical compositions
of glasses from diferent regions and historical
periods. Among these are analyses of Sarmatian
glass from Russia,6 Roman glass from Braga in
Portugal,7 and early medieval glass beads from
Slovenia.8
The classiication of glasses used for beads
from the Great Moravian stronghold at BeclavPohansko was conducted in accordance with the
conclusions by ern, Hulnsk, and Gedeon,9
who dealt in detail with microanalytical assessment of chemical compositions of medieval
(sixth- to 12th-century) glass beads predominantly from central and northwestern Bohemia
(i.e., Prague, the central Bohemian region, the
st region, and the town of Olomouc in the
middle of Moravia). The results enabled the authors to divide the examined glasses into ive
basic chemical groups: (A) soda-lime glasses
(Na2O-CaO-SiO2), (B) binary lead glasses (PbOSiO2), (C) potassium-lead glasses (K2O-PbOSiO2), (D) soda-lead glasses (Na2O-PbO-SiO2),
and (E) chemically undetermined glasses.
Based on the SiO2 and alkali contents, the analyzed glass beads from the archaeological site of
Beclav-Pohansko can be divided into three basic groups:
(1) Alkaline glasses, containing more than
10% wt. Na2O and less than 1% wt. MgO (samples 1, 2, 47, 9, and 10 in Table 3).
(2) Silica glasses, containing more than 75%
wt. SiO2 and less than 10% wt. Na2O (samples
3, 8, and 12 in Table 3).

6. Mark E. Hall and Leonid Yablonsky, Chemical Analyses

of Sarmatian Glass Beads from Pokrovka, Russia, Journal of
Archaeological Science, v. 25, no. 12, December 1998, pp.
12391245.
7. M. Dolores Petit-Domnguez and others, Analytical Information on the Composition of Roman Glass from Braga
(Portugal), Quaternary International, vv. 308/309, 2013, pp.
140147.
8. iga mit and others, Analysis of Early Medieval Glass
Beads: Glass in the Transition Period, Nuclear Instruments and

(3) Other glasses. Because of their inhomogeneous structure, it is very diicult to classify
them with accuracy (samples 11, 13, and 14 in
Table 3).
The glass used for beads exhibits some speciic chemical traits. The high SiO2 content in the
analyzed material is always compensated for by
low contents of alkaline elements, and the Na2O
content is considerably higher than that of K2O.
The high Al2O3 content can be identiied only in
glasses with low and medium SiO2 contents. The
high ratio of Na2O in the glass is accompanied
by an increased MgO content. Some glasses
show a signiicant percentage of PbO and CuO
(see Table 3). In terms of concentrations, however, this glass cannot be compared with groups
of binary lead, potassium-lead, and soda-lead
glasses, according to the work of ern, Hulnsk, and Gedeon10they cannot be classiied
with any of the deined groups (B, C, and D).
The mixtures of the abovementioned elements
are always linked with medium and low SiO2
contents in the analyzed glasses.
The microscopic and microanalytical examination has demonstrated that some of the glass
beads have many inclusions and inhomogeneities. These can probably be interpreted as: (1)
residues of minerals from the original glass or
melting agents (e.g., barite, monazite, and several sulides), (2) inhomogeneities in insuiciently kneaded material, or (3) tiny particles of color
additives (mainly phases containing copper, lead,
tin, chromium, or titanium).
Samples 4, 9, and 10 can be characterized as
double-shell beads (Fig. 10). The specimens represented by samples 4 and 10 were probably

Methods in Physics Research, Section B, Beam Interactions with

Materials and Atoms, v. 278, no. 1, 2012, pp. 814.
9. Eva ern, Vclav Hulnsk, and Ondrej Gedeon, Vpovdmikroanalz vzork skel z ranho stedovku = Microprobe Analysis Results of Early Medieval Glass Specimens,
Archeologick rozhledy, v. 53, no. 1, 2001, pp. 5989.
10. Ibid., pp. 6771.

49

manufactured in two steps. The more eroded

parts are situated close to the central hole, indicating that glass of lesser quality evidently
formed the core of the bead, while glass of higher quality made up the outer shell of the artifact.
Sample 10 was probably made by gradually
winding ductile glass that was not entirely homogeneous. This is relected in the electron image by the emergence of concentric zones of different thicknesses and chemical compositions,
in which layers of pure alkaline glass alternate
with zones of alkaline glass containing traces of
lead and copper.

FIG. 10. Diagonal cut through bead of double-shell

type (sample 9, Grave JP/172) in scanning electron
microscope. Areas of diferent color in backscattered
electrons image represent material of another chemical composition.

TABLE 3
EDX Analysis of 14 Beads from Beclav-Pohansko*
Sample

SiO2

Na2O

K2O

CaO

PbO

FeO

Al2O3

67.14

8.32

3.54

5.55

2.64

9.38

66.72

8.78

3.72

5.91

2.63

65.87 12.30

3.09

4.81

67.38 11.73

3.11

63.80 15.37

SO3

MnO

MgO

P2O5

TiO2

CuO

Sum

1.74

0.71

99.02

8.35

0.83

1.42

0.55

98.91

1.56

8.73

0.60

1.52

0.58

99.06

4.26

1.25

8.73

0.62

1.52

0.55

99.15

3.36

5.38

0.86

5.85

4.13

65.12 13.50

3.60

6.11

0.87

5.71

4.14

99.52

63.96 14.80

4.92

4.96

0.84

5.93

4.12

99.53

63.38 15.62

4.72

5.04

0.58

5.46

0.74

4.00

99.54

83.20

4.11

0.40

5.38

0.55

4.58

0.76

98.98

79.79

7.75

0.60

6.29

2.98

0.71

0.73

98.85

79.24

7.27

0.94

6.51

2.93

0.80

0.59

98.88

83.45

3.41

0.63

6.07

0.98

3.69

0.83

99.06

70.50 12.44

1.98

3.84

0.88

2.81

1.04

5.94

99.43

69.64 13.91

2.05

3.90

0.42

1.94

1.00

6.46

99.32

69.32 13.89

2.22

4.04

0.47

2.05

1.08

6.26

99.33

70.61 12.86

2.30

4.13

0.39

2.09

1.05

5.89

99.32

50

0.47

0.60

0.77

99.52

TABLE 3 (cont.)

Sample

SiO2

Na2O

K2O

CaO

76.51 10.55

1.56

5.44

75.10 10.85

1.43

4.67

74.15 11.56

1.62

74.54 10.21

PbO

FeO

SO3

MnO

MgO

2.39

2.39

0.91

2.75

2.68

5.36

1.00

3.00

2.38

1.68

5.47

1.03

3.30

73.10 12.61

1.41

4.99

1.04

3.81

76.76

9.44

1.70

4.95

73.76

9.89

1.20

6.96

71.62 14.29

1.09

72.72 14.08

P2O5

TiO2

Sum
98.84

0.54

98.93

99.07

2.60

98.83

1.96

98.92

3.30

2.80

98.95

1.50

4.35

1.36

99.02

6.72

1.10

3.07

1.15

99.04

1.02

6.60

0.75

2.77

1.25

99.19

73.47 13.62

0.94

6.98

2.87

1.07

98.95

70.56 13.69

2.27

5.09

2.54

4.30

99.23

72.05 13.17

2.43

5.05

2.38

4.20

99.28

71.07 13.40

2.40

5.32

2.59

3.88

99.41

71.01 14.20

2.45

5.06

2.34

4.28

99.34

70.46 11.66

2.51

5.21

1.50

3.88

4.03

99.25

71.12 11.83

2.75

5.43

1.31

2.90

3.94

99.28

84.12

3.08

0.54

4.70

1.29

2.95

1.03

1.29

99.00

84.50

2.85

0.77

4.72

1.18

2.68

0.93

1.29

98.92

84.62

3.18

0.64

4.47

1.04

2.94

0.86

2.94

100.69

83.89

3.12

0.91

4.62

0.87

2.96

1.17

1.39

98.93

55.74 14.70

1.29

6.19

9.68

2.23

2.47

0.64

2.60

1.50

2.03

99.07

55.23 13.60

1.29

6.08

9.12

2.25

2.68

1.13

2.66

1.84

5.23

101.11

54.98 13.80

1.35

6.39

9.43

2.34

2.53

0.91

2.51

1.58

3.17

98.99

55.77 12.55

1.60

6.21

9.57

2.46

3.15

0.96

2.56

1.67

2.54

99.04

45.10

1.18

6.31

8.73

4.58

2.50

0.72

2.08

5.60

12.87

99.19

27.83

1.47

4.07

5.49

9.92

2.69 14.79

30.24

99.25

10

63.83 15.35

2.30

5.23

1.31

3.81

0.55

99.36

54.40

5.41

3.30

3.87

6.04 15.00

52.33

6.10

3.23

4.50

5.30 15.32

61.86

9.79

2.39

6.68

2.10

5.10

62.66 10.64

2.40

6.26

2.28

5.67

0.78

0.75

2.75
0.74

CuO

9.52

Al2O3

5.56

0.68

3.48

2.50

0.85

4.08

98.93

1.01

3.84

3.09

0.81

3.54

99.07

1.39

4.00

3.01

3.12

99.44

0.78

4.34

1.53

1.76

99.38

1.06

51

TABLE 3 (cont.)
Sample

SiO2

Na2O

K2O

CaO

11

77.30

4.10

1.50

6.48

69.22

4.08

1.09

6.10

65.54

3.54

0.92

4.24

77.28

3.67

1.22

12

78.96

9.75

78.33

PbO

FeO

Al2O3

SO3

MnO

MgO

P2O5

TiO2

CuO

Sum

1.73

3.19

0.98

1.32

0.93

1.29

98.82

5.61

1.87

4.11

0.86

1.07

1.71

3.17

98.89

8.01

2.91

8.00

1.16

1.73

3.16

99.21

6.26

1.68

4.00

1.24

1.03

1.57

98.81

0.74

6.63

0.97

1.35

9.66

0.63

6.66

1.10

1.42

79.08

9.86

0.70

6.61

0.95

78.76

9.64

0.76

6.47

13

75.14

3.39

1.35

84.88

2.46

86.12

0.86

0.49

98.89

0.57

0.60

98.97

1.12

0.51

98.83

1.03

1.62

0.58

98.86

5.49

2.90

6.89

1.01

0.48

1.67

0.87

99.19

0.91

2.71

1.67

3.79

0.75

0.53

1.42

99.12

1.59

0.59

3.78

1.28

3.29

0.93

0.55

1.08

99.21

84.08

2.88

0.79

4.93

1.32

3.51

0.82

0.80

99.13

14

83.44

1.81

0.71

4.77

2.57

5.42

1.05

99.77

84.31

2.55

0.32

4.61

1.51

3.79

99.65

49.06

3.32

1.72

6.68

0.51

99.76

46.04

2.08

1.61

4.53

100.00

0.64

0.78

1.14

14.57 12.74

2.13

9.03

30.90 10.19

1.34

3.31

* Glass analyzed in all beads. Diferent contents of some oxides in various samples
are related to inhomogeneity of samples. Oxide contents are in wt. %.

DISCUSSION
Glass Beads from Graves in the Southern
Suburb
In the southern suburb, glass beads were
found in only four of the 205 graves, and only
one grave (JP/022) produced a ind that we
could identify as a necklace, preserving 27 of the
original 30 beads. The other graves containing
beads were JP/028 (four), JP/065 (two), and JP/
172 (four), for a total of 37 beads (Fig. 11).
The necklace from Grave JP/022 (Fig. 3.1)
consisted of three types of beads: transversely
segmented cylindrical (19), cylindrical made of
chopped glass (two), and small discoid (six).
52

Sixteen of the transversely segmented cylindrical beads were manufactured by fusing two
glasses of diferent quality (cased glass made by
layering one type of glass on the other); the core
of the glass of lesser quality was made by drawing a glass thread into tubular form and winding colorless glass around it.11 The beads were

11. Danica Stakov-tukovsk and imon Ungerman,

Sklenen korliky z vasnostredovekho pohrebiska v Dolnch Vstoniciach = Glasperlen aus dem frhmittelalterlichen
Grberfeld in Doln Vstonice (Glass beads from the early medieval cemetery in Doln Vstonice), in Archeologie [note 5],
p. 144.

FIG. 11. Distribution of inds of beads and buttons in explored area

of southern suburb. (Drawing: Ji Grnseisen)

then shaped either with an unspeciied tool or in

a mold (e.g., sample 4, Table 1.4). Three transversely segmented colorless beads were made
by winding ductile glass around a mandrel and
shaping it with an unspeciied tool (e.g., sample
3, Table 1.3).12 Two green beads (the so-called
chopped glass beads) were drawn (e.g., sample
2, Table 1.2).13 Six tiny, dark (perhaps dark blue
or black) discoid beads were probably created
by simply coiling a glass thread (e.g., sample 1,
Table 1.1). These beads are very small (H. 0.15
0.2 cm; D. [max.] 0.20.3 cm, [hole] 0.080.1
cm). In shape, they resemble lattened black peppercorns, called Hirsenkornperlen in the German
literature.14
Among the inds in Grave JP/028 (Fig. 4.7,
.8) were four plain olive-shaped beads of transparent greenish glass threaded on an iron wire
(e.g., sample 5, Table 1.5). There may have been
more of these beads, and the surviving examples are poorly preserved. They were probably
made by winding a viscous glass thread on a
metal tube. Because the beads have the same

shape and dimensions, we can suppose that they

were shaped in a mold, which was probably
also true of the specimens from Grave JP/028.
Five very similar beads, also strung on an iron
wire, were found in Grave 56/54 at Doln Vstonice in southern Moravia.15
The adult female from Grave JP/065 was
provided with two beads (Fig. 5.2, .3). One of
them is an olive-shaped, longitudinally segmented dark green bead with three ribs (sample 6,
Table 1.6). It was probably created in a manner
similar to that which produced the undecorated

12. Ibid.
13. Ibid., p. 143, ig. 4.
14. Ibid., p. 145.
15. Danica Stakov-tukovsk and imon Ungerman,
Olivovit korliky terminologick poznmky a makroskopick pozorovania nlezov zpohrebiska vDolnch Vstoniciach
= Olivenfrmige Perlen terminologische Anmerkungen und
makroskopische Beobachtungen von Funden aus dem Grberfeld in Doln Vstonice (Olive-shaped glass beads: Remarks on
terminology and macroscopic observations of specimens from
the cemetery in Doln Vstonice), tdijn zvesti (Nitra), v. 45,
2009, pp. 3957, ig. F19.16.

53

olive-shaped beads from Grave JP/028, with

the three ribs shaped with an unspeciied tool.16
The other bead is of the transversely segmented
cylindrical type, made of drawn glass that was
shaped into transverse segments in a mold (sample 7, Table 1.7).17 Its current color is an intense
turquoise. The lateral sides near the holes show
evidence of corrosion progressing from the inside to the surface.
In Grave JP/172 (Fig. 7.3.6), somewhere between the left arm of the deceased and the wall
of the grave pit, four types of beads were found:
a discoid bead of translucent blue glass probably
made simply by coiling a glass thread (sample
8, Table 1.8); an olive-green double-shell, transversely segmented cylindrical bead (sample 9,
Table 1.9); a globular red-brown bead that required chemical analysis to demonstrate that it
is made of glass and not of ired clay (sample
10, Table 1.10); and a multicolored cylindrical
bead. Its core is dark in color (perhaps black),
and a yellow glass thread was wound around it
(sample 11, Table 1.11). Two similar beads were
part of the necklace uncovered in Grave 17 of
the Cremation Graveyard (rov pohebit).18

Beads from Funerary Areas at Pohansko19

The number of complete necklaces made of
glass beads, like that of individual beads in funerary equipment, is very small in the examined

16. Stakov-tukovsk and Ungerman [note 11], p. 141.

17. Ibid., p. 144.
18. Boivoj Dostl, Drobn pohebit a rozptlen hroby
zBeclavi-Pohanska = Kleine Grberfelder und zerstreute Grber von Beclav-Pohansko, Sbornk prac ilozoick fakulty
brnnsk univerzity = Studia Minora Facultatis Philosophicae
Universitatis Brunensis (Brno), v. E27, 1982, pp. 135201, ig.
3.22.
19. This article does not include inds from new archaeological research in the northeastern suburb (research seasons
20082013), where a Christian church (a circular building with
one apse) and a nearby burial site were found. See, for example,
p and others [note 3].
20. Frantiek Kalousek, Beclav-Pohansko, v. 1, Velkomoravsk pohebit u kostela = Grossmhrisches Grberfeld bei
der Kirche, Brno: Universita J. E. Purkyn, 1971.
21. Dostl [note 18]; Boivoj Dostl, Vchodn brna hradiska Pohanska = Das Osttor des Burgwalls Pohansko, Sbornk
prac [note 18], v. E29, 1984, pp. 143166; Renta Pichystalov,

54

graves from the stronghold of Beclav-Pohansko.

This includes both the cemeteries around sacred
buildings and the small family burial grounds
scattered in the settlements both inside and outside the fortiication. In the cemetery around
Church 1, complete or incomplete necklaces
were found in only 12 graves, which represent a
mere 2.94% of the total of 407 graves.20 As was
already noted, the inds of beads in the southern
suburb (Jin pedhrad) came from four graves
out of 205 (1.6%). In other areas, the numbers
were similarly sparse. Glass beads were uncovered in two of the 80 graves in the Forest Nursery (Lesn kolka), in one of 32 graves in the
Cremation Graveyard (rov pohebit), and
in two of 34 graves in the Forest Dune (Lesn
hrd).21
A similar trenda small number of inds of
necklaces made of glass beads in inventories
from burial sites in the second half of the ninth
centurycan be observed throughout the territory of what is now southern Moravia and
southwestern Slovakia.22 For example, in southwestern Slovakia (an area of about 15,000
square kilometers), glass beads were found in
only 164 graves. By comparison, jeweled earrings were found in more than 600 graves in
that same region (not counting graves located
in cemeteries around churches).23 For Great Moravian burial sites in general, glass beads are
found in two to eight percent of graves.24

Die Bestattungen in Beclav-Pohansko: Alte und neue Ausgrabungen (Burials in Beclav-Pohansko: Old and new research),
in Praktische Funktion, gesellschaftliche Bedeutung und symbolischer Sinn der frhgeschichtlichen Zentralorte in Mitteleuropa. Internationale Konferenz und Humboldt-Kolleg anlsslich
des 50. Jahrestages des Beginns der archologischen Ausgrabungen in Pohansko bei Beclav, Studien zur Archologie Europas, v. 14, ed. Ji Machek and others, Bonn: Habelt-Verlag,
2011, pp. 3538, table 1.
22. Stakov-tukovsk and Ungerman [note 11], table 1.
23. Milan Hanuliak, Velkomoravsk pohrebisk: Pochovvanie v 9.10, storo na zem Slovenska = Grossmhrische
Grberfelder und Bestattung im 9.10. Jahrhundert auf der Slowakei, Archaeologica Slovaca Monographiae, v. 8, Nitra: Archeologick stav Slovenskej Akadmie Vied, 2004, pp. 154
171.
24. Stakov-tukovsk and Ungerman [note 11], p. 138,
table 1.

Glass jewels were not favored in traditional

Slavic cultures. Finds of glass artifacts dating to
the sixth and seventh centuries are rare.25 The
use of necklaces as, for instance, accessories with
folk costumes began to increase with the arrival
of the Carolingian material culture and as the
result of trade between the Slavs and the Avars.
The inluence of these nomads is also evident in
inds of simple Slavic earrings made of bronze
or copper.26
The fact that Slavs appreciated glass is demonstrated by fragments of Celtic glass bracelets
and by glass beads found in Slavic burial sites
and settlements. The Slavs intentionally collected these items, and they apparently ascribed special powers to them. They probably served as
amulets with a protective function.27

Glass Buttons with a Metal Shank

from Graves in the Southern Suburb
As was mentioned earlier, the excavation of
graves in the southern suburb yielded three or
four fragments of glass buttons. Two examples
had a globular blank, and one featured a discoid blank. The fourth ind is numbered among
the glass buttons with some caution. During the
removal of the backill of Grave JP/202 (Fig.
9.1, .2), whitish colorless glass of an irregular
globular shape, and with rust marks on the surface, was found. Because the same grave also
contained a button with a discoid blank made of
macroscopically identical glass, it was assumed
that this glass was also a fragmentary glass button.
At irst glance, the glass of the globular buttons varied. A dark blue specimen came from
Grave JP/072 (sample 12, Table 1.12, Fig. 6.1),
while the button from Grave JP/177 (sample 13,
Table 1.13, Fig. 8.2) is green-gray with a pearly
gloss. The diferent hues may be the result of
corrosion. The button from Grave JP/177 was
probably made of colorless or translucent white
glass. This conclusion is supported by the chemical composition of the glass. The dark blue button falls within group 2 (silica glasses), and the
other analyzed buttons belong to group 3 (other

glasses with inhomogeneous composition), making them similar to the discoid button from
Grave JP/202 (sample 14, Table 1.14).

Glass Buttons with a Metal Shank

from Graves in Pohansko
At the Beclav-Pohansko site, the inds of
glass buttons were akin to those of glass beads
in funerary contexts: very sporadic. In the southern suburb, buttons were discovered in only
three of 205 graves (one piece each in Graves
JP/072 [Fig. 6] and JP/177 [Fig. 8], and probably
two pieces in Grave JP/202 [Fig. 9]). Excavations of funerary areas in other locations until
2007 yielded only seven examples of glass buttons with a metal shank, including four pieces
in the church cemetery in the area of the ducal
manor, the so-called Manor Court;28 one piece
outside the palisade fortiication of the manor
area;29 and one piece in the vicinity of the stronghold in the Forest Nursery and Cremation
Graveyard.30
The seventh of these glass buttons was found
in the burial site around Church 1 in the area of
the Manor Court (Childrens Grave 230). The
globular head of this button, made of rainbowcolored glass, was wreathed with two copper
iligree wires in the shape of a cross. A comparable ind (numbered 51) was made behind
the garden in Settlement 1 in Star Msto.31

25. Zdenk Mnsk, esk zem od pchodu Slovan po

Velkou Moravu, Prague: Nakladatelstv Libri, 2002, p. 144.
26. Necklaces from glass beads were worn by children and
women, especially young women. See Hanuliak [note 23], p.
174, ig. 191.
27. imon Ungerman, Archaika in den frhmittelalterlichen
Grbern in Mhren, in My Things Changed Things: Social Development and Cultural Exchange in Prehistory, Antiquity, and
the Middle Ages, ed. Petra Makov Vlkov, Jana Mynov,
and Martin Tomek, Prague: Charles University, Faculty of
Arts, and Institute of Archaeology of the Academy of Sciences
of the Czech Republic, 2009, pp. 230, 231, 235, 237, 248, and
249.
28. Kalousek [note 20], ig. 68.2, .3 and table 33.11, .12.
29. Dostl [note 4], ig. 36.15.
30. Dostl [note 18], pp. 141 and 143, ig. 3.
31. Vilm Hrub, Star Msto: Velkomoravsk Velehrad,
Prague: Nakladatelstv eskoslovensk Akademie Vd, 1965,
pp. 336337, ig. 13.8.

55

Nothing has so far been found in the BeclavPohansko stronghold that can be clearly interpreted as a glass workshop or a glass kiln.
However, the presence of several types of glass
products (including goblet lamps, a lamp with a
handle, stemmed lamps, vessels, windowpanes,34
a smoother, buttons, and various types of beads
among them a bead made in the milleiori
technique35) attests that this commodity was
not in short supply in central Europe during the
ninth century.
Some types of glass products, such as lamps,
vessels, and milleiori beads, arrived in this area
along trade routes and through cultural and

political contacts with more advanced western,

northern, and southeastern neighbors (the
Frankish Empire; the Scandinavian trade centers of Hedeby, Birka, and Dorestad; and, to the
southeast and east, Venice, Aquileia, and the
Byzantine Empire).36 The merchants probably
imported not only inished products but also uninished glass, from which local craftsmen made
various objects according to the tastes of the
Slavic inhabitants of the region.
The nearest locality with published evidence
of glass production is the signiicant central
stronghold of Mikulice (about 15 kilometers
northeast of Pohansko; Fig. 1). Excavations in
the acropolisthe Valy site, in the suburb and
northern outer wardyielded evidence of the
manufacture of glass products, not in the form
of workshop facilities but with the presence of
remains of glass melting (e.g., gobs of glass resulting from the making of glass paste and the
shaping of products from prepared glass, and
glass drops from the manipulation of molten
glass).37
Similar types of inds are known from another
signiicant Great Moravian center: Star Msto
(about 70 kilometers northeast of Pohansko;
Fig. 1). Excavations in settlements I (Na Valch)
and III (Na Halti) revealed, in the occupation
layers containing the inds, small ceramic fragments with remnants of crusts of melted glass
and tiny glass gobs, which indicate glass production at the site.38 The crusts of melted glass
on fragments of ceramic vessels probably conirm that raw glass was heated in these vessels
during the manufacture of glass artifacts (ductile glass was wound around a metal mandrel,
shaped in a mold, or drawn out like a thread).
Regrettably, these archaeological discoveries

32. Kalousek [note 20], ig. 368.1.

33. See, for example, Hanuliak [note 23], pp. 177180; Zdenk Klanica, Nechvaln, Prunky: tyi slovansk pohebit,
dl I. = Nechvaln, Prunky: Vier slawische Nekropolen. Teil I,
Brno: Archeologick stav Akademie vd esk Republiky,
2006, pp. 8284.
34. Ludk Galuka and others, The Glass of Great Moravia: Vessel and Window Glass, and Small Objects, Journal of
Glass Studies, v. 54, 2012, pp. 6192, esp. pp. 9192.

35. Kalousek [note 20], p. 201, ig. 374.1.

36. Galuka and others [note 34].
37. Zdenka Himmelov, Glasfunde aus Mikulice, in Studien zum Burgwall von Mikulice, v. 1, ed. Falko Deim and
others, Brno: Archologisches Institut der Akademie der Wissenschaften der Tschechischen Republik, 1995, v. 1, pp. 9394,
ig. 13.
38. Hrub [note 31], p. 337; Ludk Galuka, Velk Morava,
Brno: Moravsk Zemsk Muzeum, 1991, pp. 5152.

It is very interesting that both types of artifactsglass beads and glass buttonswere
found exclusively in the graves of females (10
examples) and children (16 examples). Furthermore, the occurrence of buttons is associated
almost exclusively with children. One exception is from Grave H368 at the Manor Court,
which contained a male between 24 and 30
years of age.32 A large discoid bead and a grapeshaped silver earring were found by sieving the
graves backill, so it is certainly possible that
these inds may have come from some other
disturbed grave, perhaps that of a child. Similar
inds have been published from contemporaneous funerary areas in the territory occupied
by the former Czechoslovakia.33 Based on the
abovementioned indications, it can be supposed
that glass components of early medieval costume in Great Moravia were worn by children
and (mostly) young females.

Manufacture of Glass in Pohansko

and Great Moravia

56

were not published in detail, so we cannot draw

solid conclusions about the glass produced in
Star Msto and in Nitra and its environs (see
below).
About 70 kilometers south of Pohansko, an
important discovery of a pyrotechnological device for glass processing was made. In the territory of Great Moravia (present-day southern
Moravia and southwestern Slovakia), it is the
only properly published workshop facility that
was probably employed for processing glass.
This feature was found on the outskirts of Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia, in a cadastre of
the Devnska Nov Ves town district.39 It is a
rectangular chamber kiln built of reused fragments of Roman bricks laid in rows (L. 118 cm,
W. 90 cm). The maximum preserved height is
52 centimeters. The daub of the chamber was
covered with glass melt. Waste droplets of green
glass and fragments of crucibles with remnants
of glass melt on their walls were found at the
bottom. In the ruins of the kiln, a globular button of translucent light green glass was discovered. It is therefore possible that the object was
made in this production device. This assumption
is supported by chemical analysis of the glass
from which the button was made, as well as of
fragments of glass and glass melt from the kiln,
and by comparison of the measured values of
key compounds that are signiicant in particular
types of glasses (CaO, K2O, SiO2, PbO, MgO,
etc.).40
From the literature, we know of the existence
of glass-processing facilities in the territory of

present-day Slovakiain Nitra, which was once

an important center of Great Moravia and the
residence of Duke Pribina or Bishop Wiching.41
Archaeological excavations conducted during
the mid-20th century in the town center along
Leningradsk Street (today Damborskho Street)
uncovered kilns (Nos. 1 and 2) that contained
amorphous and loaf-shaped glass paste of various sizes and weights. In older publications,
these features were interpreted as glass kilns.42
Recent follow-up excavations and chemical
analyses of these inds have disproved this interpretation and ofered another suggestion for the
original purpose of the kilns: that they were involved in iron smithery. Glass loaves were probably used as raw material for increasing the fusibility of iron.43
Another site in Nitra where glass workshops
are thought to have been located is the erm
district, near the Borina hill-fort. According to
very brief mentions in the specialized literature,44
there were three glass kilns and one furnace for
the iner processing of glass. Glass production
would also have been conducted in the settlement area below the Martinsk hill.45 Unfortunately, all of these suggestions are hard to verify
because we lack any freely available information. For example, there is no detailed publication of craftsmens tools, excavated artifacts, or
analyses of production residues for the city of
Nitra and its surroundings.
It is quite possible that glass products from
some of these places reached Pohansko through
trade or as gifts. Resolving this matter would

39. Zdenk Farka and Vladimr Turan, Vasnostredovek

sklrska pec vBratislave na Devnskej Kobyle = Frhmittelalterlicher Glasofen in Bratislava auf Devnska Kobyla, Slovensk
Archeolgia (Nitra), v. 46, 1998, pp. 3154; Vladimr Turan,
AD: Vasnostredovek sklrska pec vBratislave na Devnskej
kobyle, tdijn Zvesti (Nitra), v. 46, 2009, pp. 8386.
40. Farka and Turan [note 39], table 1.
41. Duan Tetk, Vznik Velk Moravy: Moravan, echov
a stedn Evropa vletech, 791871, esk historie, v. 8, Prague:
Nakladatelstv Lidov Noviny, 2001, pp. 127135; Zdenk
Mnsk, esk zem od pchodu Slovan po Velkou Moravu,
v. 2, Prague: Nakladatelstv Libri, 2006, pp. 540565; Nitra:
Prspevky knajstarm dejinm msta, ed. Karol Pieta, Nitra:
Archeologick stav SAV, 1993.

42. Bohuslav Chropovsk, Slovansk pohrebisko vNitre na

Lupke = Das slawische Grberfeld in Nitra auf Lupka, Slovensk Archeolgia (Nitra), v. 10, 1962, pp. 215 and 219.
43. Danica Stakov-tukovsk and Alfonz Plko, K otzke interpretcie sklovitej hmoty ztzv. sklrskych pec vNitre,
Archeologia Technica (Brno), v. 14, 2002, pp. 2930.
44. Bohuslav Chropovsk, Vznamn slovansk nlezisk
na Slovensku, Bratislava: Veda, Vydavatelstvo Slovenskej Akadmie Vied, 1978, pp. 134135; Gabriel Fusek, Archeologick
vskum dejn Nitry od jej osdlenia Slovanmi po znik Velkej
Moravy, in Nitra [note 41], p. 104.
45. Fusek [note 44].

57

require a thorough analysis and comparison of

the chemical compositions of glasses from individual indspots, or a detailed study of traces of
production on the objects themselves.

CONCLUSIONS
Fourteen glass objects selected from among
the inds in the southern suburb of the BeclavPohansko stronghold were chemically analyzed:
11 beads and three buttons. All of them were
found in graves. They can be divided into three
basic groups, based on their SiO2 and alkali contents:
(1) Alkaline glasses, containing more than
10% wt. Na2O and less than 1% wt. MgO
(samples 1, 2, 47, 9, and 10; Table 1.3). This
group, which includes eight of the analyzed
beads, has a quite varied composition. Among
the inds in the group are a small discoid bead,
a plain olive-shaped bead, a longitudinally segmented olive-shaped bead, a drawn bead of
chopped glass, a globular bead, and transversely
segmented beads. In typological characteristics
and chemical composition, they are similar to
the glass group A2 classiied by ern, Hulnsk, and Gedeon.46
(2) Silica glasses, containing more than 75%
wt. SiO2 and less than 10% wt. Na2O (samples
3, 8, and 12; Table 1.3). In this group is a transversely segmented bead that D. Stakovtukovsk regards as a local imitation of imported segmented beads.47 Other members of
the group are a discoid bead and a globular button, both made of blue glass.
(3) Other glasses (samples 11, 13, and 14;
Table 1.3). Because of their inhomogeneous
structure, it is very diicult to classify them accurately. The samples included in this group
were determined by chemical composition. They
include a cylindrical dark-colored bead composed of two diferent kinds of glass, with an
applied yellow thread. Two buttons are also part
of this group. The glass of a discoid button from
Grave JP/202 contains many air bubbles that
may have resulted from insuicient puriication
of the glass paste.
58

Thirty-seven glass beads were found in graves

in the southern suburb. We recognized eight
types of beads, based on the traditional typological classiication. The largest number of
beads belonged to the category of transversely
segmented beads (21 examples). They are divided into three groups on the basis of their manufacturing process, and into two groups on the
basis of chemical analyses. One group of beads
(including sample 3) is signiicant for both
groups. These beads could have been made by
Great Moravian craftsmen who were imitating
glass products from western or southern Europe. Transversely segmented beads (samples 4
and 10) probably originated in the central Danube region. Analogous artifacts were found in
the graves of Avarian (Avarian-Slavic) burial
sites dating to the seventh and eighth centuries.48
Beads of this shape and manufactured with the
same technique persisted until the ninth century,
although they are rarely found in Great Moravian graves from the second half of that century.
On the basis of chemical analyses, six small
discoid glass beads from Grave JP/022 (sample
1) were incorporated into the category of socalled Hirsenkornperlen, which were found in
large numbers in seventh- and eighth-century
Avarian-Slavic burial sites in central Europe.49
Their numbers decreased in the ninth century,
and necklaces found in graves of that date typically contain between one and seven beads.
Strings containing as many as 500 such beads
have been found in graves of the ninth and 10th
centuries, but they were made of binary lead
glass.50
Grave JP/028 contained four pieces with plain
olive-shaped beads. The inventory of Grave JP/
065 included one longitudinally segmented oliveshaped bead. These beads were classiied as alkaline glasses.
46. ern, Hulnsk, and Gedeon [note 9], pp. 8586.
47. Stakov-tukovsk and Ungerman [note 11].
48. Ibid., p. 144, ig. 3.
49. Zlata ilinsk, Slawisch-awarisches Grberfeld in Nov
Zmky, Archaeologica Slovaca, Fontes,v. 7, Bratislava: Vydavatelstvo Slovenskej Akadmie Vied, 1966, p. 159.
50. Stakov-tukovsk and Ungerman [note 11], p. 145.

These inds indicate that longitudinally segmented beads originated in central Europe. They
are most frequently found in Bohemian, Bavarian, and Moravian graves dating from the ninth
century to the irst half of the 10th century, often
with plain olive-shaped beads. Such beads were
present, however, in earlier Avarian-Slavic burials. It is believed, therefore, that plain oliveshaped beads may have been developed in two
parts of Europe independently,51 a hypothesis
that needs to be tested with chemical analyses.
The only multicolored glass bead from the
southern suburb is a cylindrical dark-colored
bead with an applied yellow thread, which was
discovered in Grave JP/172 (sample 11). Such
beads have often been found in late AvarianSlavic burial sites, so they are recorded in Moravia relatively early (irst half of the ninth century), and very rare inds from the end of the
ninth century have been reported.52
The so-called lead glasses, which are dated
from the end of 10th century to the 12th century, were not found in the southern suburb.

This conclusion fully accords with the ninthcentury dating of the artifacts discussed in this
article.
The glass beads and buttons were found mostly in the graves of women and children. It is very
likely that they represent a typical attribute of
these social groups. Despite the absence of any
direct evidence of the production of glass beads
and buttons in the Beclav-Pohansko stronghold, it can be supposed that this production
nevertheless took place here. Most of the glass
objects from Pohansko probably reached this
area through trade, gifts, or political-religious
contacts, or as spoils of war.53

51. Ibid., pp. 138143; Ji Kota and Kateina Tomkov,

Olivovit korlky vran stedovkch echch a jejich postaven vestedoevropskm kontextu = Olivenperlen im frhmittelalterlichen Bhmen und ihre Stellung im mitteleuropischen
Kontext, Pamtky Archeologick (Prague), v. 102, 2011, pp.
307354, esp. pp. 337346.
52. Stakov-tukovsk and Ungerman [note 11], p. 146.
53. Galuka and others [note 34].

59