A clay bead? Or something else entirely?

From the recent posts concerning exciting pottery post-excavation, you will be know we are working hard to produce a catalogue detailing the huge number of sherds we have found. During this process we have been looking at two extraordinary pieces over the past few days.

First to emerge was this ball-shaped piece, cleaned and measured by pottery triage volunteer Alison Gough and brought to the attention of our specialists Jan and Roy.  What is this roughly made object?

It’s about two centimetres across, hollow and with two large, irregular holes and various little perforations around those. Not to mention foreshortened, lines impressed between the two large holes. It’s hard to say if something has burned out from inside it but it’s well-fired and has, potentially, a flat/facetted bottom.

We have a collection of amber and stone beads from the Ness but not ceramic. Could this be a large (for the Ness) fired clay bead?

Ceramic beads are not frequent discoveries in the Orcadian Neolithic – there may even be none, but we need to research that more carefully than we’ve had time to do this week.

Could it be a clay ball? Right size but unusually, hollow. Could it have been formed around something, e.g. an oak apple/gall, a small femur – something organic which then burnt out of its clay encasing? We have no other hollow clay bead or ball to compare it with. 

The second ceramic piece is a sliver of cordon, just over three centimetres long, and about 1.5 centimetres wide, which has become detached from its pot. This one was picked out for extra attention by pot team member Sarah.

Detached cordons are frequent finds at the Ness but this is particularly noteworthy for its incised decoration forming what looks like a St Andrews cross, but is more likely the angled ends of two triangles nearly butting up against each other.  It’s unusual for being decorated and merits particular record for that. It will need consideration and comment and adds to the wide and unusual range of ceramic expression from the Ness.

Both ceramic pieces will require thought and research. They’re symptomatic of what the Ness throws up week after a wonderful week – rarities, curiosities, unique smidgens of Neolithic activity.