Description

Identification note: At the time of their discovery, the rings were reported to the Coroner and then sent to Liverpool University for authentication and analysis. Previously, the rings were in a private collection (purchased at Henry ALdridge & Son Auctions in 1998 by a Mr Pickering. He paid £1900 for them). See Object History File.

Summary: Two Viking gold stranded-wire finger rings found in Beckhampton, near Avebury, in 1994. Dating to 8th – 10th centuries AD, the rings were placed inside one another in antiquity. They are bent into an oval shape - possibly from the pressure of burial. Each gold strand of the rings is delicately spot-soldered and then finished with a flattened terminal at the end. Both rings are very small, possibly once belonging to an infant and older child.