In 1887, a bead was found in the Wood and is now to be seen in the Chelmsford Museum in Chelmsford (the county town of Essex, England). It is made of intertwined yellow and blue glass and is doughnut shaped. Of continental design, it is dated between 150 BCE and 50CE (late Iron Age).

How did it come to be in Norsey Wood? Possibly it had been imported as there was regular trade between the south-east of Britain and the tribes on the Continent. On the other hand, it may have been brought back from the Continent by a mercenary from these parts who had joined his fellow Celts in their fruitless struggle against the invading Roman army. 

It would have been a valuable and valued possession, so it is less likely to have been lost. Woods were amongst those places considered to be sacred by the Celts and it is a possibility that the bead was part of a votive offering and hung on a tree.

The dimensions of the bead are: diameter 40.6mm, hole and thickness both 8.4mm and it weighs 21.3g.