Necklace beads. Iruaxpe I (Aretxabaleta, Gipuzkoa)

8 disc-shaped necklace beads and one cylindrical bead fashioned by boring from either end. The beads are in white calcite and their diameters range from 7 to 10 mm. At the top of the picture is a light green discoidal/cylindrical bead, made of talc or similar soft stone. The beads come from the Iruaxpe I cave (Aretxabaleta, Gipuzkoa) and are related to burial sites on the floor of the cave, possibly dating from the Chalcolithic (4500 – 3800 BP).

Bibliography:

Armendariz, Ángel. Excavación de la cueva sepulcral Iruaxpe I (Aretxabaleta, Guipúzcoa). Munibe, 1987. 39, 67-92