Description

Summary: Roman silver finger ring, of 'keeled' type, set with a moulded light blue intaglio. The intaglio is oval-shaped and depicts a nude male figure, possibly Jupiter, wearing a radiate crown and holding a staff. Found with the use of a metal detector in 1996, in the parish of Bishops Cannings.

Research results

A Roman silver signet ring found by a metal detectorist operating in Bishops Cannings in 1996. The blue glass intaglio set into the bezel depicts Sol, an originally eastern deity whose depictions are relatively uncommon in rural contexts and was more popular on urban and military sites. The ring lacks an archaeological context, but can be dated to the third century based on its form.

This ring was examined by Marshman (2015) as part of thier PhD with the university of Leicester. This PhD undertook a survey of Roman signet rings and intaglios in Britain, criticising previous research which had discussed the objects in almost exclusively art-historical terms, in isolation of the wider archaeological evidence. They highlight that finger rings were an important part of an empire-wide metropolitan tradition due to the importance of sealing in every day tansactions and other contracts. Unlike brooches, signet rings were not a feature of Iron Age dress in Britain, and particularly in the early period appear to have been associated with the roman military and colonia, and those who wished to style themselves as 'Roman'. Wider adoption of signet rings followed in the second and third centuries, when the meaning attributed to them may have changed.