Rights Holder: The Portable Antiquities Scheme
CC License:
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Unique ID: PAS-81B51C
Object type certainty: Certain
Workflow
status: Published
Description
Decorative gold stirrup-shaped ring. It has a small bezel for an opaque light blue cabochon stone (?light blue sapphire) or glass (measuring 2x3mm), and a gold hoop of flattened oval cross-section. The internal hoop diameter is 18.5 mm (very slightly misshapen). Hoop width 1.5 mm; bezel width 2 mm. Weight 2.168g.
Metal Content
To judge from the colour and weight, and visual comparison with other gold rings and brooches in the collections of the Department of Archaeology & Numismatics, the item is gold (over 10%).
Conclusions
The form of the decorative, stirrup-shaped ring was very popular during the 13th century, and is paralleled by rings from bishops' tombs at Chichester, and the medieval collections of the British Museum (MLA 1885, 6-15, 1; Dalton 1782). The Tawelan example is fine and slender, in comparison with others: a much larger example from Wales found near Cwmbran in 1989 weighed 9.84g (Cherry and Redknap 1992, 127).
Notes:
It is my opinion that as an object which has at least 10 per cent by weight precious metal, and which is at least 300 years old, the ring is treasure under Section 1 (1) (a) of the Treasure Act 1996.
Dr M Redknap
Curator of Medieval & Later Archaeology
Department of Archaeology & Numismatics
National Museums & Galleries of Wales
Current location of find: Carmarthenshire County Museum
Subsequent action after recording: Acquired by museum after being declared Treasure
Treasure case tracking number: 2004W1
Broad period: MEDIEVAL
Period from: MEDIEVAL
Date from: Circa AD 1200
Date to: Circa AD 1300
Quantity: 1
Width: 1.5 mm
Weight: 2.168 g
Diameter: 18.5 mm
Date(s) of discovery: Saturday 1st November 2003
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Other reference: Wales 04.1
Treasure case number: 2004W1
4 Figure: SN3920
Four figure Latitude: 51.85530272
Four figure longitude: -4.33917116
1:25K map: SN3920
1:10K map: SN32SE
Grid reference source: From finder
Unmasked grid reference accurate to a 100 metre square.
Author | Publication Year | Title | Publication Place | Publisher | Pages | Reference | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cherry, J. and Redknap, M. | 1991 | Medieval and Tudor finger rings found in Wales | 127 |