Ness’s smallest bead measures just 2mm in diameter

The 2mm carved stone bead from Structure Twenty-Six beside a penny to give some idea of scale.

A closer view of the tiny Structure Twenty-Six bead.

Sometimes it’s the small things that astound — like this tiny stone bead discovered today.

Measuring circa 2mm in diameter, the bead must have taken a steady hand and a sharp eye to create and was recovered by Cecily from the residue from an environmental sample taken in Structure Twenty-Six last summer.

It is the smallest example of a Neolithic bead recovered from the Ness to date.