File:Roman bead (FindID 78032).jpg

English: A complete, small faience melon bead. The external surface is pale blue and buff in colour and none of the glaze survives. There are fifteen slightly vertical grooves of different lengths. Close to the perforation on one side, the edge has a notch and a chip which probably happened in antiquity as the walls are very thin. The bead weighs 0.5g and is 7.3mm high, with a diameter of 10.7mm. The diameter of the perforation is 6.3mm.

This type of bead was in use during the 1st and 2nd centuries, being most common in the 1st century, particularly on military sites. Early finds come from Neronian contexts at Camulodunum (Harden 1947, 307 no. 3). Faience melon beads were produced in a wide range of sizes and have wide perforations and convex profile with vertical or slightly diagonal grooves scored into the outside surface. They were produced in a wide range of blue shades ranging from turquoise to bright blue with a buff/greyish core. It is likely that the smaller beads were used in a similar manner to other beads as a form of personal adornment, although the larger faience and glass melon beads may have been impractical to wear, particularly around the neck.Other examples can be seen in Crummy 1983, figure 32.