English: TREASURE CASE 2013 T920: Medieval silver finger-ring with incised decoration and zoomorphic style terminals. The ring is made of a thin rectangular-sectioned strip of silver which is broader in width at the bezel and tapers towards the terminals. The ring is penannular in shape so that the two zoomorphic terminals which form the hoop of the ring are not joined. It is not clear if this penannular shape was the original design of the finger ring as one terminal has a rough irregular edge and the other is sharp to the touch and not worn. The ring is sub-oval in outline having being distorted out of shape from front to back.

The bezel of the ring is decorated with an incised square outline containing an X-shaped cross with a small incised bar across each arm of the cross forming smaller crosses. In between each angle of the X-shaped cross there is an incised line running from the box outline towards the centre of the cross but not meeting with the centre. The shoulders of the ring, to either side of the bezel are decorated with a column of short (c.2mm) incised tranverse grooves, 9 to one side and 10 to the other. The sides of the hoop are then decorated with an incised round-cornered square outline containing an X-shaped cross with the angles infilled with small punched dots (c.5-7 in each angle). Beyond this decoration, forming the terminal of the ring to either side, is a stylized zoomorphic head formed of a column of 7-8 short (c.2mm) incised grooves and below this two opposed incised C-shaped outlines forming the eyes with a line between forming the bridge of the nose with feathered incised lines to either side.

The incised decoration has traces of black niello infil.

The ring is Medieval and most probably dates from the 12th century, c.1100-1200.

Dimensions: Weight 1.3g; side-to-side diameter of hoop 15.1mm external, 12.9mm internal; top to bottom diameter of ring 10.5mm external and 8.7mm internal. The width of the hoop at its widest (the bezel) is 7.7mm tapering to 3.3mm at the end of the zoomorphic terminals. The thickness of the hoop is c.0.8mm and this does not differ significantly between the bezel, shoulders and terminals.

Discussion: This finger ring is broadly similar in style to other examples also reported via the Treasure Act, for example 2004 T232 found in West Sussex, 2004 T494 found in Warwickshire and 2005 T380 found in North Yorkshire.