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Description: | Cast copper alloy finger ring of probable later Roman date (200 - 410 AD).
The finger ring is constructed from a single sheet of copper alloy, which has been looped and hammer welded to make the hoop of the ring. The ring has been damaged and would have originally been circular in plan. It is now a sub-oval shape and measures 21.4mm in length and 24.3mm width. It is 1.3mm thick and weighs 2.59 grams. The cross section of the ring has a slight D shape bevel.
The ring has a central sub-rectangular bezel, which measures 14.2mm wide x 6.9mm high. This is the widest part of the ring. The ring then tapers and narrows on either side of the bezel until they adjoin at the back of the ring. Here the ring is only 3.6mm wide. This shaping is even and symmetrical suggesting that the ring was well made and that the craftsmanship was both well executed and elegant.
The external face of the ring has a series of incised decorative motifs.
The most complex of these designs is located on the central sub-rectangular bezel. The extent of the bezel has been delineated by two pairs of vertical parallel lines. These two vertical pairs are 12.4mm apart. Within this space is a design created from a series of short linear incised lines. Unfortunately, the design is difficult to interpret due to the badly corroded nature of the metal. However, enough survives to suggest that the central image was likely to have been a bird with crudely drawn spreading wings. The clearest parts of this design are the two legs and sloping wings.
Other incised decoration on the ring includes two horizontal parallel lines. These start either side of the vertical lines that delimit the central bezel and encircle the whole ring, creating a central panel. Each of these lines is 0.5mm from the edge of the ring and so taper to the rear, following the shape described above.
At the back of the ring is the final area of decoration. Here, there are a series of vertical and horizontal lines. The pattern though has been lost as this is the area of the ring with the most damage.
The internal face is undecorated.
The finger ring has an even mid-green patina with several large areas of light green powdery active corrosion. This corrosion masks much of the decoration.
The ring has also been abraded in the plough soil and many of the edges of the ring have been chipped. Also, there are a number of vertical cracks and stress fractures in the metal suggesting that it has been compressed whilst in the depositional environment.
A copy of the images was sent to Dr Martin Henig who has suggested a probable later Roman (4th - 5th century) date for the ring. He states that "Assuming that the central figure is a bird, I wonder whether it is a bronze version, rather cruder than the silver examples I am about to cite of mt Type XV rings, dated 4th-5th century in 'M.Henig, A Corpus of Roman Engraved Gemstones from British Sites, BAR Brit ser 8, 1974/(2nd edn 1978)', nos 798 (Droitwich), 799 (South Ferriby), and 800 (Whorlton). The only other possible parallel was a ring made from a very late bracelet, 5th century, from Barton Court Farm, Abingdon cf. D.Miles, pp. D13-D15, fig 105 no.2 in the microfiche section of the report (CBA 500 but perhaps better illustrated in Martin Henig and Paul Booth, Roman Oxfordshire (Stroud 2000),pp.196-7 fig.7.8."(Henig, M. pers comm: 2004). | Format: | text/html | License: | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ | Publisher: | The Portable Antiquities Scheme | Rights holder: | The Portable Antiquities Scheme | Subjects: | archaeology | Temporal: | 300
410 | Source: | Portable Antiquities | Creator: | Peter Reavill | Identifier: | http://www.finds.org.uk/database/artefac... | Language: | en-GB | Format: | text/html | Go to resource |
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