gems, glyptic, engraved gems, agate, cameo, intaglio, archaeology, glass, gold in glass, 432, stone beads, carnelian, agate, rock crystal, malachite, beryl, amazonite, chalcedony, limestone, alabaster (?), talc schist, chlorite schist, siltstone, claystone, mudstone, kaolin, soapstone, slate, beryl, Periplus, archaeology

Some 1,663 glass beads, previously considered rare on Aksumite sites, were recovered during the 1973–74 excavations, mostly from tombs and associated robber tunnels. Unlike glass vessels, bead forms are rarely diagnostic of either provenance or period, since the same style may recur at different times in different places or remain in fashion for centuries. Chemical analyses can be useful and have been conducted on a few Aksumite examples (see Appendix 1), but many more are needed to help resolve questions of dating and origin (cf. Davison 1972; Dekéowna 1980, pp. 379–81). Moreover, it has long been known that broken glass from different sources was frequently recycled in antiquity (Trowbridge 1928, p. 99). Dating has been attempted based on associations with other excavated objects and by comparison with similar beads from archaeological sites scattered between the Mediterranean and India.