The Escrick ring is a gold finger ring set with a large blue gemstone and red glass cloisonné dating to the 5th to 6th century AD. It was discovered on 22 May 2009 in a field near

Escrick Escrick is a village and civil parish in the Selby District of North Yorkshire, England. It was historically part of the East Riding of Yorkshire until 1974. It is approximately equidistant between Selby and York on what is now the A19 road. Hi ...

, North Yorkshire by a

metal detector A metal detector is an instrument that detects the nearby presence of metal. Metal detectors are useful for finding metal objects on the surface, underground, and under water. The unit itself, consist of a control box, and an adjustable shaft, ...

ist and reported via the

Portable Antiquities Scheme The Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS) is a voluntary programme run by the United Kingdom government to record the increasing numbers of small finds of archaeological interest found by members of the public. The scheme begun in 1997 and now covers m ...

. Following a successful funding campaign, the ring was acquired by the

Yorkshire Museum The Yorkshire Museum is a museum in York, England. It was opened in 1830, and has five permanent collections, covering biology, geology, archaeology, numismatics and astronomy. History The museum was founded by the Yorkshire Philosophical Soci ...

for £35,000.

Description

The Escrick ring is a gold finger ring set with a large blue gemstone and red glass cloisonné, measuring 23.1 mm in diameter across the bezel and 25.5 mm across the hoop. It weighs 10.2 g. The central cabochon gem is surrounded by four triangular cells. Where these meet, small round cells have been set. Glass slips are still present in one of the triangular cells and four of the interstitial spaces. The square frame of the bezel is set onto an eight-lobed base. The lobes are alternately embellished by gold granules and by beaded wire enclosing further gold granules. Where this platform meets the round-sectioned hoop, three further gold granules are set. The underside of the lobed platform is plain. Analysis of the metal using

X-ray fluorescence X-ray fluorescence (XRF) is the emission of characteristic "secondary" (or fluorescent) X-rays from a material that has been excited by being bombarded with high-energy X-rays or gamma rays. The phenomenon is widely used for elemental analysis ...

indicated a gold content of approximately 90%, a silver content of 8%, and a copper content of 2%. The gemstone was identified as a sapphire using

Raman spectroscopy Raman spectroscopy () (named after Indian physicist C. V. Raman) is a spectroscopic technique typically used to determine vibrational modes of molecules, although rotational and other low-frequency modes of systems may also be observed. Raman sp ...

Significance

In January 2013 experts from UK universities gathered in York at a conference organised by the University and the Yorkshire Museum to discuss the nature and significance of the ring. The ring was subsequently argued to date from the 5th or 6th century – not the 10th or 11th as originally believed. Its origin was attributed to Europe, possibly France, and it was thought to have belonged to a king, leader or royal consort – not a bishop, which was also a previous theory.

Public display

The ring was acquired by the Yorkshire Museum in 2011 for £35,000 and subsequently placed on public display. The money was raised with grants of £10,000 from the Art Fund, £10,000 from the MLA/V&A Purchase Grant Fund, £10,000 from the Headley Trust and £1,000 from the York Philosophical Society. Since 2017 it has featured as one of the key objects in the exhibition 'Medieval York: Capital of the North'.

References

{{reflist 2009 in England Anglo-Saxon archaeology Medieval European metalwork objects Metal detecting finds in England History of North Yorkshire Collections of the Yorkshire Museum Treasure troves in England Archaeological sites in North Yorkshire 2009 archaeological discoveries Individual rings

Description

Significance

Public display

See also

References