Page 10 - Oundle Life January 2025

MUSEUM
FOCUS
Silver medieval finger ring
This rather sweet little silver ring, which was a metal detectorist find, is one of a few artefacts we have in the museum from the medieval period.
Dating from c.1200-1400 AD the ring has a central oval bezel with a raised outer rim to hold either a stone, possibly precious, or an intaglio which was missing when the ring was found in farmland just outside Oundle. Weighing in at just 2.6 grams the ring would appear to be in very good condition considering it has been in the ground for so long, although there is some damage on the edge of the central bezel.
Ave Maria is a typical religious inscription which may have been understood to serve as an amulet for the wearer. The letter A of Maria overlies the join of the two halves of the hoop indicating that the overlap was intentional and
The shoulders of the ring have
a thin rectangular section before
the hoop properly starts, which are
slightly broader than the hoop and
are decorated with a row of outlined
circular dots, more clearly defined
on one side. The hoop of the ring is a
thin rectangle in section and does not
form a solid circle, but has overlapping terminals at the base of the hoop with the overlap being approximately 11mm in length. The interior of the hoop is plain and the exterior has an inscription in clear lettering which
reads +AVE MARIA (meaning Hail Mary) in reverse and it may have served as a seal matrix.
the exterior has an inscription in clear lettering which reads +AVE MARIA
original unless the inscription was a later addition. This type of ring is not rare but ours is quite unusual with the lettering being in reverse.
We are hoping to display the little ring next year so please come along and have a look at it for real!
We would like to wish everyone a very Happy New Year for 2025 and hope to see lots of visitors in March for
the opening of our new exhibition, more details regarding that to follow!
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Carole Bancroft-Turner Management Committee Chair