Rare Gold Ring Possibly Belonging to a Iron Age Tribal Leader Discovered After 30 Years in a Cupboard.
The gold ring may have belonged to a leader of the Corieltauvi tribe. (Photo: Noonans)
An English private collector purchased a Iron Age gold ring for £36,000 at a Noonans auction on November 16. The Yorkshire Museum is in discussions with the buyer about displaying this artifact.
“The buyer is very pleased that this rare and beautiful ring can be displayed for everyone to enjoy. We have an outstanding Iron Age collection, and the ring will fit perfectly alongside other items,” said Andrew Woods, manager at the Yorkshire Museum.
A metal detectorist in Knaresborough discovered the ring in a field in North Yorkshire in 1994, later selling it to a collector for a few hundred pounds. The collector kept the ring in a cupboard for 28 years before deciding to auction it this year. Initially, the collector believed the ring dated back to the Roman or Anglo-Saxon period. However, when he brought it to the British Museum for analysis, experts revealed the true age of the ring.
Dating back to around 100 BC, the ring may have once been worn by a leader of the Corieltauvi tribe. Before the Roman conquest, the Corieltauvi tribe dominated areas that are now part of the Midlands and Yorkshire.
The ring’s unique design is associated with the Iceni tribe, which once ruled a vast area of what is now East Anglia. It is possible that the ring was brought to Yorkshire through a treaty between warring tribes. “No other rings of this style exist. It is an extremely important piece,” commented Nigel Mills, an expert in antique jewelry at Noonans.
