Current Research Postgraduates
Miss Elizabeth Schech
(email at e.m.schech@durham.ac.uk)
Research Topic
Iron Age Glass Beads in Britain
Abstract
Glass beads form a facet of material culture in Iron Age Britain previously only considered through classification or scientific analysis, yet a study of these artefacts utilising approaches that explore materiality and identity remains absent. This creates a lacuna that is detrimental to fully comprehending late-prehistoric adornment. The present study will fill that gap through both a study of glass beads and an exploration of a ‘multi-material’ identity constructed by an mélange of objects for the body.
The aim of this project is (1) to take a regional approach to determine if there are discrete patterns in glass bead appearance, deposition and chronology, and (2) to provide a comparative approach between glass beads and other objects of personal adornment such as brooches, armlets and stone beads. This approach will not only re-evaluate our understanding of glass bead dating, typology and manufacturing, but aspires to address further questions, such as the ways in which late-prehistoric people negotiated the world around them through objects and utilised these objects to convey non-verbal statements of identity.
Following data collection, it is the intention of this research project to address issues relating to dating and classification of glass beads through a systematic review of the depositional contexts of beads and associated artefacts. The results will be beneficial for all archaeologists that work with late-prehistoric sites. In addition, the research will also produce a comprehensive overview of glass bead appearance including shape, colour and decorative motif. Finally, the project will consider how glass beads were utilised during the Iron Age and their relation to other objects of personal adornment. The culmination of this analysis will result in a thorough and dynamic view of Iron Age society and their expression of identity through the use of objects of personal adornment.
Other Activities
- Co-coordinator for the 2011 Iron Age Research Student Seminar at Durham University
- Coordinator for the Iron Age Discussion Group 2009-2011
Is supervised by
Selected Publications
- Schech, E.M. (2012). AHG Grant Report: Beyond Typology: Iron Age Glass Beads in their Social Context. Glass News 32: 7-8.
- Schech, E.M. (2010). Review of Textile Production in Pre-Roman Italy by Margarita Gleba. Archaeological Review from Cambridge 25.1: 183-185.
Research Groups
- Prehistory of Eurasia Research Group
