File:A Medieval Finger Ring (FindID 864024).jpg

Period: Medieval

Date of Discovery: October 2015

Circumstances of discovery: metal detecting on cultivated land

Description: an incomplete gold finger ring. The remains of the ring consist of an oval-shaped slightly raised bezel, the shoulders and part of the hoop on one side of the ring. The bezel is now empty but would have once held a stone or glass insert. Around half of the rim of the bezel is a cast raised decoration of two parallel lines between which are a line of dots. The decoration looks to have once extended fully around the rim of the bezel but has since been worn away. The shoulders of the ring are also decorated with a cast raised irregular design within an incised line following the slope of the shoulders. The remains of the ring have been flattened and twisted and one half has been abraded, possibly owing to plough damage.

Dimensions: 12.07mm in length, 33.04mm in width, 5.22mm in thickness and 2.53g in weight.

Discussion: a number of finger rings of a similar style have been recorded on the PAS database. For example, a late Medieval gold ring with a zoomorphic bezel found in Anlaby with Anlaby Common, East Riding of Yorkshire (Griffiths 2014); a gold stirrup-ring with the initial 'R' over the stone setting found in Rampisham, Dorset (Hayward Trevarthen 2014); and a further gold stirrup ring found in Marsh Baldon, Oxfordshire (Byard 2012). When comparing these examples to the object in discussion and its similarity to some styles of stirrup ring with its slightly raised bezel, this finger ring can be dated to the Medieval period circa AD 1200-1500.

Conclusion: in conclusion, this object constitutes a prima facie case of treasure by consisting of more than 10% precious metal content in that it is gold, and is of an antiquity greater than 300 years.

References:

Griffiths, R (2014) YORYM-C69859: A Medieval Finger Ring from Anlaby with Anlaby Common, East Riding of Yorkshire

Web page available at: <a href="https://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/record/id/652576">https://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/record/id/652576</a>

[Accessed: 8 Sep 2017 10:27:39]

Hayward Trevarthen, C (2014) DOR-46EFBD: A Medieval Finger Ring from Rampisham, Dorset

Web page available at: <a href="https://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/record/id/651346">https://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/record/id/651346</a>

[Accessed: 8 Sep 2017 10:32:51]

Byard, A (2012) BERK-A08922: A Medieval Finger Ring from Marsh Baldon, Oxfordshire

Web page available at: <a href="https://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/record/id/530653">https://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/record/id/530653</a>

[Accessed: 8 Sep 2017 10:34:32]