Culbin Sands

NJ06SW 15 unlocated.

Segmented Faience Beads, Group 1B: Large numbers of Bronze Age faience beads of this group have been found on the surface of Culbin Sands, but none with definite associations. Lumps of brownish slag, with patches of green material suggested to Mann that some of the beads had been made locally and this may be true of the later Early Iron Age varieties. Mann notes the discovery of 8 of the segmented variety, but 12 are preserved in the NMAS.

Faience Star Beads, Group II: In the National Museum of Antiquities of Scotland (NMAS, Accession no. BIB 1-3) are 3 faience beads of this type from Culbin Sands, but all are surface finds without associations. One is complete and there are single fragments of two others.

H C Beck and J F S Stone 1935; G F Black 1891; L M Mann 1906

100 beads of yellowish glass, being half a necklace found on Culbin Sands, and a small ribbed bead (broken), of dark coloured glass, found at the same time were donated to the NMAS (Accession no. 3/1871) by Major Chadwick, Moy House, Forres.

Proc Soc Antiq Scot 1873

In 1919, the NMAS purchased from the collection of the late John MacEwan, a number of glass beads, jetting and segments of two jet rings, a disc, and a small segment of a circular object.

(Beads from Culbin Sands in NMAS - Accession nos. BIB 1-4, 14-85.)

Proc Soc Antiq Scot 1920

Analysis of the faience beads found on the Culbin Sands suggests local manufacture and glass slag found there, although not yet reliably dated, is essentially similar in composition to the beads.

R G Newton and C Renfrew 1970

No further information.

Visited by OS (AA) 17 May 1971.