ring; finger

Description
Entwined snakes' heads with two central bosses.
Incomplete but very elaborate snake's head finger ring. The hoop is of circular section with the arms bent back to form an S-shape with a snake's head at both ends. The heads are flat on the reverse but heavily moulded on the face. As the necks run parallel across the finger the join is covered by three silver bosses, soldered into position, each with a notched penannular frame which has been applied separately.
See 1999-12-4 for a similar ring.

Object detail

Department
Object/Archaeology
Documentation notes
This form is well known in 1st and 2nd century AD contexts in Britain: see two examples from the Backworth Hoard, one in silver now lost, and one in gold (Charlesworth 1961, 25, no.10, pl.I, no.9); two examples in silver from Buckinghamshire (Marshall 1968, nos.1144, 1145, with extra scroll decoration); a silver example from Chesters, Northumberland, (Budge 1907, 383, no.1307) and a silver ring from the River Thames at London (Murdock 1991, 80-1, no.53, fig.4.9). For other examples from Britain and the continent see Cool 1979, who postulates a single, British, workshop for the series.
Field collection reference
CN76-210
Site Type
Site
fort annexe
context
Accession number
1999-012-081

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