Metal detectorist searching countryside stumbles on ancient Roman treasure in Wales
Metal detectorists stumbled on two pieces of ancient Roman treasure while searching areas of Wales, according to archaeologists.
Peter Anning was using a metal detector to scan the countryside in the Vale of Glamorgan in April 2020 when he stumbled on something, according to a Nov. 14 news release from Amgueddfa Cymru Museum Wales. He unearthed a small silver fragment.
Archaeologists identified the silver artifact as part of a Roman ring, the release said. The fragment is over 1,700 years old, dating from the second to third century A.D.
A photo shows the thin silver band. “The central oval bezel on the ring is inscribed with a stylized palm branch design,” officials said.
Anning’s find wasn’t the only ring found by metal detectorists.
Another metal detectorist, Richard Murton, was searching a pasture in Powys in November 2022 when he uncovered a silver artifact, the release said.
Archaeologists identified Murton’s find as a Roman ring from the first or second century A.D.
A photo shows the treasure. The ring has a simple design along its curve, wider on top and thinner near the bottom.
The top of the ring has a “broad central setting” which originally “would have held a semi-precious stone or glass setting, probably bearing an incised motif,” the release said.
Several Welsh museums hope to acquire the rings after they’ve been evaluated by independent commissions, officials said.
The Vale of Glamorgan is a county in southern Wales, about 170 miles west of London. Powys is a county in central Wales, about 190 miles northwest of London.
This story was originally published November 16, 2023 at 10:20 AM with the headline "Metal detectorist searching countryside stumbles on ancient Roman treasure in Wales."
