Image: BUC-FA09D7 Silver sword hilt ring (FindID 417678)
Description: Silver ring from a sword pommel. It is flat on both faces but decorated only one, with a broad groove within which is a counter-relief line of raised ovals which all have a fine longitudinal groove scored along their length. The ring has a rounded inner and outer edge. There is some greenish copper corrosion on the inside of the perforation suggesting that there is some copper in the alloy. Sword-rings were attached to the pommels of high-status swords. Different decoration on the two faces is paralleled elsewhere (e.g. a gilded silver ring from Barham, Kent; Treasure Annual Report 1998/9, no. 54). The earliest sword-rings date from the second half of the fifth century, and they continued in use until at least the middle of the seventh; they were most common in rich Kentish graves of the sixth century.
Author: Buckinghamshire County Museum, Ros Tyrrell, 2010-11-26 12:02:16
Usage Terms: Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0
License: CC-BY-SA-3.0
License Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
Attribution Required?: Yes
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