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Description: | Cored gold 'ring-money', a penannular ring 15.5 mm in diameter, and sub-square or sub-circular in cross-section, measuring 5 mm deep and 5 mm wide; the faces are most flattened near to the terminals. The ends of the ring butt right up against each other and are joined by corrosion from the core. A copper-alloy core is suggested by green corrosion products in two places, both on the interior surface of the ring; behind the terminals, and where the gold sheath has cracked on the opposite side from the terminals. Further damage to the gold sheath, on both exterior faces near one terminal, shows the core as light brown; this may be dirt. There are lighter transverse lines on the interior face, apparently petering out close to the terminals; this is known as 'banding' and appears on many examples of 'ring-money'. These may be strips of a slightly different alloy. The finished surfaces are not particularly regular, with slight facets that may be hammer marks. The function of 'ring-money' is unknown; they date mainly to the Late Bronze Age. For other examples from Suffolk, see MNL 132 (two, both solid) and TYN 047 (a single solid banded example).
Gill Varndell of the British Museum has examined this object, and her report (20.02.2002) reads: "A penannular ring of slightly sub-rectangular cross-section, the terminals very close together. The surface is worn, and flattened on both faces near the terminals; there are traces of hammer-marks which give an irregular appearance to the surface. The internal surface has traces of paler gold bandig which has been worn off the external surface. There is green corrosion internally, across both terminals and oposite them; this probably derives from the base metal core (see below). There is damage to the surface near one terminal and a small area of the gold wrapping is absent; there is some lifting of the wrapping especially at the terminal surfaces. The construction is of gold sheet wrapped over a bronze core. Maximum external diameter 15.5mm; maximum internal diameter 6mm; thickness 6mm; weight 6.7g. The object is a well-known Late Bronze Age type, dating to c. 1150-750 BC. The type is decorative in character." | Source: | Portable Antiquities | Creator: | Geake, Helen - Portable Antiquities Scheme | Identifier: | http://www.findsdatabase.org.uk/hms/pas_... | Language: | en-GB | Go to resource |
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