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Description: | A copper-alloy finger-ring with integral key dating to the earlier Roman period. The hoop is broadly circular and D-shaped in cross-section, being flat internally (int. dia.: 17.2mm max.). There are no shoulders as such and the bezel is only slightly thicker than the hoop. As with such artefacts the bit protrudes at right angles to the bezel such that the key element lay flat on the finger. The bit begins with a trapezoidal base that is decorated with a pair of transverse grooves. Above this is a recess each side to a narrow waist before the main sub-triangular upper element. The triangle terminates in a lobed trefoil. It features a central inverted T shape openwork perforation. The bezel has been bent inwards slightly following old damage. The metal has a red/brown colour with some areas of light-green corrosion product. Crummy (1983, 84) suggests that ring-keys with flat bezels may date to the early Roman period, and we succeeded by rotary keys.
Original Image | Publisher: | http://finds.org.uk | Source: | Portable Antiquities | Identifier: | http://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/r... | Go to resource |
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