The University of Aberdeen revealed the discovery of a 1,000-year-old ring by an amateur archaeologist at a fort in Moray, Scotland.
A press release from the university described the Pictish ring as “remarkable” and detailed how the intricate piece was found in an area thought to be “archaeologically vandalized.” Much of the history within the area was lost during construction of the town of Burghead in the 1800s, so the ring is truly a fascinating find.
The piece of fine jewelry is kite-shaped and is believed to have laid in place for more than 1,000 years. Self-described “enthusiastic amateur” for Burghead digs, John Ralph, found the piece after picking up lots and lots of “shiny pebbles.”
The term “Picts” describes the “painted people” and is a derogatory term the Romans developed to describe non-Roman Britons during their occupation, according to HistoryHit.
#Archaeology Pictish ring (at least 1000 years old) discovered at Burghead by a volunteer for University of Aberdeen. https://t.co/RohaHSEFjf pic.twitter.com/mOLRXBDW4E
— Tim Bolton 🐿 | 🏹 Ranatuor of Laurelin 💍(He/Him) (@timboltonuk) September 10, 2024
On the last day of the dig, after experts repeatedly told Ralph that he had a real knack for finding not much of anything, he proved everyone wrong.
“Even before the conservation work we could see it was something really exciting as despite more than a thousand years in the ground we could see glints of the possible garnet setting,” the university’s professor of archaeology Gordon Noble said in the release.
“There are very few Pictish rings which have ever been discovered and those we do know about usually come from hoards which were placed in the ground deliberately for safekeeping in some way. We certainly weren’t expecting to find something like this lying around the floor of what was once a house but that had appeared of low significance so, in typical fashion, we had left work on it until the final day of the dig,” he added. (RELATED: Archaeologists Uncover Evidence Linked To Merlin, King Arthur Legend)
The ring will now be analyzed and used to plan further excavations of the site. “Given Scotland’s remarkably rich history, it shouldn’t be surprising that that we are still uncovering important pieces of Scotland’s past, even where we least expect it,” Historic Environment Scotland’s Susan O’Connor noted. We can’t wait to see what they find next!
