these types of beads appeared on the market at least 15-20 yrs ago, from afghanistan traders, who were also bringing those beads made from drilled bits of broken glass bangles purportedly "Roman"- and the encrustations are added to make them look and feel ancient.
if they arent mid eastern then possibly chinese?

I think they are Chinese. I have seen them on Chinese markets. They are quite interesting. At the moment I am in Greece. When I get back, I'll post some pictures.
The drilled glass bits.... I think some of them might be genuinely ancient, but there are also examples that are clearly new.

I went back to check, and I messed up on the original labeling.

When I found them in the gallery, this image was grouped with about four other images of those beads made of refashioned old glass bangle bracelets. I thought those came from Pakistan, but all the images were labeled 'Iran'.

I'm not sure how the pages in the gallery are ordered timewise, but thse images were on page 54, if that helps.

Now that I look, I do see that some are very weathered looking, and others look newer. I love the textures, and the 'crusty' appearance, the delicate shapes.

Thanks to you both, and will eagerly (yet patiently) await any new information. :^)

Luann: I saw this on eBay. It's similar to the above. The link is
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Ancient-Chinese-Peking-glass-Carved-2-4inches-Bead-Necklace-H91-/171796454861?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item27ffddddcd. There are similar "Peking glass" beads listed under antiques/asian antiques/china/necklaces & pendants.

I actually found several I liked. At first I hesitated--Chinese, new, etc.

Then I thought, I'm only getting a few, and I've paid more for handmade glass beads that weren't as interesting. So what the heck? :^)

Thank you so much for pointing these out to me!

Glass with enamels and perhaps baking soda on the surface, and they could also be etched. Contemporary, probably made in China, but most beadmakers could knock these out.