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Tens of thousands of amber beads have been recovered from furnished early medieval female burials of the later fifth to early seventh centuries AD in southern and eastern Britain (Brugmann, 2004, fig. 64; Huggett, 1988, pp.64-66). Amber reached its peak in the middle of the sixth century, overtaking even glass beads in popularity (Huggett, 1988, p.64; Brugmann, 2004, p.47; Hirst, 1985, p.75). Despite the wealth of evidence for the finished objects, no archaeological traces of amber-working in southern Britain during the same period have yet been identified, from either excavated settlements or cemeteries....

This paper explores sources of black dyes in Ireland and Scotland prior to 1500, in order to better understand the extent to which they were used and the hues that can be produced. I propose that it is possible to obtain true blacks using only natural dyeing techniques. To test this hypothesis, four variations of historically plausible dye methods, and a control, were tested based on the availability of the dyestuffs. Brown Shetland wool was dyed according to possible historical methods, and each variant was subjected to a series of tests to examine lightfastness and wash fastness. Initially, testing showed a low indigotin content, an organic compound which creates a blue pigment, in the sourced woad, resulting in a poor dye bath and skewed results.

The literature on the production of Migration Period (c.400-550 AD) gold bracteates has suggested wood as a possible material to be used for the matrix on which bracteates are made, but only in the production of a single or very few bracteates. This study experiments with how such a matrix could have been made and what part of the wood could have been used. Additionally, it examines the quality changes in serial production...