The Portable Antiquities Scheme

Cite record | Embed record | Print | | Report

Medieval gold finger ring probably of late 13th to 14th century date The finger ring is complete with a distorted, flattened hoop. The circumference of the hoop suggests the ring had a diameter of approximately 16mm. The hoop has a width of 1.5mm and a thickness of 0.8mm near the base and is of flat section. The shoulders are decorated with a punched lozenge motif containing a central punched pellet and separated by punched marks at both sides. The shoulders are of sub-triangular section with a width and thickness near the bezel of 2.7mm and 1.8mm respectively. The hoop joins the solid sub-rectangular bezel (7.35mm x 5.65mm) at its base. The longer axis of the bezel is at right angles to the hoop. The bezel is plain and has a depth of 3.59mm with straight sides, which converge slightly towards the base of the bezel. The cabochon stone setting protrudes 1.45mm above the bezel, giving the bezel an overall height of 5.04mm. The stone is tear-shaped and rounded. The surface of the ring is a little worn. The ring weighs 2.2g.

Non-destructive analysis to ascertain the elemental composition of the ring was carried out by Mary Davis using a CamScan MaXim 2040 analytical scanning electron microscope (SEM), plus an Oxford Instruments Link Isis energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer (EDX). Three semi-quantitative readings were taken from the gold and further readings from the stone setting. The gold composition in the finger ring was between 93 and 95% with 4 to 6% silver and 1 to 2% copper. The stone setting was shown to mostly contain the elements of iron, silicon and aluminium, probably in the form of Iron Aluminium Silicate Fe3Al2(SiO4)3, representing an almandine garnet.

The finger ring is difficult to closely parallel, a gold finger ring with rectangular bezel containing a rectangular almandine garnet is recorded by Egan & Pritchard (1991, pp 327, No. 1612) and was recovered from a mid to late 14th century context. Egan & Pritchard (ibid.) state that the comparative frequency of gold finger rings containing small cabochon garnets in the Museum of London collections implies that they were likely to have been relatively cheap and popular.

• Egan, G. and Pritchard, F., 1991. Dress Accessories 1150-1450: Medieval finds from excavations in London London : The Stationery Office.

QR barcode

If you have a mobile phone equipped with QR recognition software, you can go directly to the webpage that this record resides at. Every record has an individual one of these.

Comment on this artefact's record

Audit data

Created: Monday 15th May 2006
Updated: Thursday 24th February 2011