Bead

A golden coloured, Baltic amber bead found in the layer immediately above a Saxon burial. Amber beads are frequently found in saxon contexts. Amber is the fossilised resin of ancient pine trees, submerged under the sea in thin veins. Wave action can uncover these veins and the amber can be gathered along the North Sea coasts of East Anglia, south-west Jutland and the southern shores of the Baltic. The colour can vary from a pale strae colour to a very dark brown.