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FINGER RING
Unique ID: WAW-87DFE5
Object type certainty: Certain
Workflow
status: Published 
Silver finger-ring, deformed to an oval and, presumably as a consequence of being squashed, cracked in one place. The band is decorated with two rows of punched, concentric double-crescents, some of them with a dot in the centre. The crescents are unevenly executed and worn away along the edge of the ring.
It has proven impossible to find close parallels for either the ring or its decoration. While the width of the band is in keeping with Late Saxon finger rings, these are more solidly made (cf., e.g., Hinton, fig. 40) and of different decoration. It is unlike Viking rings found in the British Isles and there are no parallels for the ornament in the medieval period. Early modern parallels for either form or decoration are lacking as well.
A thorough search of the relevant literature (cf. below) did not produce any convincing parallels either from the British Isles or the Continent. I have also discussed this object with four colleagues with expertise ranging from the early Anglo-Saxon to early modern periods, none of whom thought it fell into these.
Notes:
This find does not qualify under Treasure under the Treasure Act of 1996 as it was impossible to establish a plausible date.
Subsequent actions
Subsequent action after recording: Returned to finder after being declared not Treasure
Treasure details
Treasure case tracking number: 2007T3
Chronology
Broad period: UNKNOWN
Period from: UNKNOWN
Period to: UNKNOWN
Dimensions and weight
Quantity: 1
Width: 10 mm
Weight: 1.9 g
Diameter: 23 mm
Discovery dates
Date(s) of discovery: Sunday 3rd December 2006
Personal details
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Other reference numbers
Treasure case number: 2007T3
Materials and construction
Spatial metadata
Region: West Midlands (European Region)County or Unitary authority: Worcestershire (County)
District: Wychavon (District)
To be known as: Wychavon
Spatial coordinates
Grid reference source: From a paper map
Unmasked grid reference accurate to a 100 metre square.
References cited
| Author | Publication Year | Title | Publication Place | Publisher | Pages | Reference | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Graham-Campbell, J. | 1980 | Viking Artefacts: A Select Catalogue | British Museum Press | ||||
| Hinton, D.A. | 1974 | Catalogue of the Anglo-Saxon Ornamental Metalwork, 700-1100, in the Department of Antiquities, Ashmolean Museum | Oxford | Oxford University Press | |||
| MacGregor, A. and Bolick, E. | 1993 | A summary catalogue of the Anglo-Saxon collections (non-ferrous metals), Ashmolean Museum, Oxford | Oxford | Tempvs Reparatum | |||
| Scarisbrick, D. and Henig, M. | 2003 | Finger Rings: from Ancient to modern | Oxford | Ashmolean Museum | |||
| Webster, L. and Backhouse, J. | 1991 | The Making of England: Anglo-Saxon Art and Culture AD 600-900 | London | British Museum Press | |||
| Wilson, D.M. | 1964 | Anglo-Saxon Ornamental Metalwork 700-1100: Catalogue of Antiquities of the Later Saxon Period | London | British Museum Press | |||
| Wilson, D.M. | 1964 | Anglo-Saxon Ornamental Metalwork 700-1100: Catalogue of Antiquities of the Later Saxon Period | London | British Museum Press |
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