Experimental Replication of a Granulated Gold Bead from an Ancient Tomb at Bat, Oman

Abstract

During excavation of a tomb at Bat, Oman, an unusual gold bead entirely composed of 96 granules was discovered. The bead comes from an unstratified context in the bottom of the fill of the tomb, which means that it could date anywhere during the use-life of the tomb between the 3rd and 1st Millennium BC. The technical problems surrounding the manufacture of this bead are discussed and an experimental approach is used to explore a possible method of fabrication. The results of the experiments show that a combination of autogenous welding and brazing with copper salts to construct and join the individual units of the bead was successful to produce a visual replica of the bead. The method of bead construction based on the serial production of units and sub-units also has implications on the practice and organization of goldsmithing during this era.