Rights Holder: Somerset County Council
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FINGER RING
Unique ID: SOM-0169B4
Object type certainty: Certain
Workflow
status: Awaiting validation 
Medieval copper alloy ring seal dating to the 15th century AD, consisting of a broadly circular band and central bezel. The band is oval section, with a flattened faces and rounded inner and outer sides. The band expands evenly at the shoulders to meet the bezel which is oval in plan. The bezel is decorated with an incised design of an oval frame which containing a letter R with a simple crown above and small lines or possible leaves around the sides of the R. The R is incised in reverse as the ring would have been pressed into a wax seal, leaving an R facing the right way in the impression. The ring measures 25.9mm across the bezol by 25.5mm wide, the bezel is 3.6mm thick and the band 2.5mm thick and the ring weighs 6.18g.
Signet rings with a crowned initial and branches to each side became increasingly common in the 15th century, it is thought the initial was for the owners first name (Harvey and MacGuiness 1996:93). Similar rings can be seen on this database, e.g. SUSS-D1CD32, LON-2B8E94 and SOM-29C9A7
.
Subsequent actions
Subsequent action after recording: Returned to finder
Chronology
Broad period: MEDIEVAL
Period from: MEDIEVAL
Date from: Circa AD 1400
Date to: Circa AD 1500
Dimensions and weight
Quantity: 1
Length: 25.9 mm
Width: 25.5 mm
Thickness: 3.6 mm
Weight: 6.17 g
Discovery dates
Date(s) of discovery: Friday 9th March 2012
Personal details
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Other reference numbers
Other reference: SCC reciept 20737
Materials and construction
Spatial metadata
Region: South West (European Region)County or Unitary authority: Somerset (County)
District: Sedgemoor (District)
To be known as: Middlezoy
Spatial coordinates
Grid reference source: From finder
Unmasked grid reference accurate to a 100 metre square.
References cited
| Author | Publication Year | Title | Publication Place | Publisher | Pages | Reference | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harvey, P.D.A. and McGuinness, A. | 1996 | A Guide to British Medieval Seals | London | British Library and Public Record Office |
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Find number: SOM-29C9A7
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Timeline of associated dates
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