Ancient coloured glass beads from Sri Lanka and Oman were analysed by Raman microspectroscopy for non-destructive identification of inorganic pigments in the glass. Calcium phosphate (Ca3(PO4)2), cassiterite (SnO2), cuprite (Cu2O) and a Pb(Sn,Si)O 3-type lead tin oxide were found to be used as colouring agents. Moreover, a distinction between lead-based and alkali-based glass matrices could be made. Electron microprobe analysis and X-ray diffractometry were performed to show the capability of Raman microspectroscopy in comparison to these methods for answering archaeometric questions.