The Fifth Day of Christmas: The Five Golden Rings of Norfolk

Archaeologist Helen Geck works in Norfolk. The Treasury received the capital of Great Britain. – and often thinks of The Twelve Days of Christmas Carol in her work.

There is one particular verse that stands out: “On the fifth day of Christmas, my true love gave me five gold rings.”

“That’s me,” says Dr. Geck, who serves as the county’s Finds Liaison Officer. “I always look for gold rings in my work.”

In her role as part of a team, she examines items discovered by metal detectors in the county who recommend whether the items should be declared treasure by the coroner.

“Gold rings are one of the most lost things, almost everyone gets a ring,” says Dr. Geck.

“And they’re easy to lose, you take them off to wash and dry your hands, your fingers get thick and thin.”

Dr. Geek has selected five rings that crossed his desk in 2024, each revealing more about the people who lived in the county centuries ago.

“It’s a small thing and yet the design is so clear,” says Dr. Geck of her first choice.

The find is set with a deep red gemstone in the village of Sedgeford near Hunstanton.

It measures 18.2 mm (0.7 in), yet its depiction of the goddess Diana is rich in detail.

Dr Geck says: “He has a bow in one hand, the other is pointing an arrow and there’s even a little dog with a raised nose and paw.

“It is the smallest piece of Roman art and there is not an awful lot that has survived that is not a statue.”

A highly decorated ring resembles a pendant. Found in the 4th century Thetford Treasure Hoardand may have come from the same workshop.

His next choice is also Roman but is “just a big piece of gold”.

Dr Greck says: “It makes a good counterpart to the other and shows the variety of jewelery in the Roman world.

“It’s really bitter and feels quite different, with a slightly rougher texture like it’s been hammered into shape.”

Discovered near King’s Lynn, it was built between the 1st and 4th centuries.

And weighing 7.81 grams (0.3 oz), “you could make five gold rings out of it alone”, she adds.

It has been repudiated – meaning it will be returned to its finder and the owner of the land on which it was found – because museums lack the resources and space to claim every find. .

Dr Geck says: “But it’s amazing that we know about it – and that it’s been included. Portable Antiquities Scheme Database“

Moving on to the 17th century, a ring found near Merton provides an insight into the funeral rites of the Stuart period.

Dr Geck says: “Mourning rings are made to remember the person who died and given at the funeral.

“Inside it says, ‘SH died 5 May 93’ – we know that means 1693.”

People used to leave money in their wills to have rings made and distributed to family and friends in their memory.

“For example, diarist John Evelyn distributed 60 rings to his daughter’s friends after her death – and the closer the friend, the better the ring,” says Dr Geek.

“But with this ring, we know nothing about them, which makes me sad – is it Samuel or Sarah? Who was this person?”

“The database is full of these Bronze Age pen rings, more than 150 from across the country, yet we don’t know how they were used,” says Dr Geck.

Made between around 1300 BC and around 800 BC, it was discovered in North Norfolk and Norwich Castle Museum hopes to add the piece to its collection.

“Maybe it was tied in the hair? Would that work? Or maybe it went around one part of the ear like an ear cuff — but I’d be worried it would fall off,” she says.

“It’s so perfect and I love it – so many are broken or broken in some way – they’re beautiful things, but mysterious.”

His final choice is a 14th- or 15th-century medieval ring discovered at Hingham, which covers various forms of decoration, including two saints.

She thinks one of the saints might be Saint Barbara, partly because she and partly because “she always has a palm”.

Legend has it, Willi was Her father killed her when she refused to renounce Christianity and marry.

Dr Geck says: “The designs include clasping hands – symbols of loyalty – flowers, there are two saints holding palms and it would have been very bright and colorful with traces of yellow, red, green and blue, while The engraving above would have been black and white.”

“It’s like someone has tasted the kitchen sink in terms of every possible design.”

It just looks like gold, but is actually silver-based gold.

The owner probably couldn’t afford solid gold, Dr. Geck says, but wanted a ring that had more of a shape to it. Be expensive.

The item was rejected and returned to the finder and owner.