|
Date: |
|
Description: | Cast copper alloy finger ring with engraved bezel of possible Roman or later Medieval date (100-400 AD or 1400-1600 AD). The hoop of the finger ring is oval (irregular and much distorted) in plan and D shaped in cross section. The hoop flares (expands) at the shoulders of the ring to form the bezel. The bezel is sub-rectangular in plan and sub-rectangular in cross section. The hoop of the ring measures 19.6mm length, 18.4mm width, and is 2.4mm thick. The bezel measures 18mm length, 5.2mm width, and is 1.1mm thick. The internal diameter of the ring is 18.2mm x 16.1mm. The ring weighs 0.84 grams.
The external face of the bezel has a well formed and executed cast and engraved design. This design consists of a series of geometric panels. The central elements of the bezel are three square shaped panels, each with thick raised linear borders, and a single pellet in each corner of the design. On either side of the central element are two rectangular vertical panels with a series of small pellet aligned vertically. On either side of this are two sub-triangular pellets which form the shoulders of the bezel. The interior and exterior of the hoop of the ring and the interior of the bezel are plain and undecorated. The finger ring has an even but abraded mid-green / brown coloured patina which covers all surfaces. There are several small areas of damage as a direct result of abrasion in the ploughsoil and this movement has resulted in the distortion of the overall shape of the hoop in plan. No direct parallels have been found for this ring. The style of the ring is similar to a number of published Roman examples from Colchester: 1765 and 1771-2, however the patina and design seem to be similar to a number of medieval (and slightly later post medieval) examples. Also Roman examples are often much heavier than this one. The dating of this example is therefore ambiguous and the date range I have suggested should be used as a guide rather than fact. | 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: | 1000
1600 | Source: | Portable Antiquities | Creator: | Peter Reavill | Identifier: | http://www.finds.org.uk/database/artefac... | Language: | en-GB | Format: | text/html | Go to resource |
|
|