A 9th/10th Century gold ring found on land to the North West of Nercwys Hall, Flintshire by metal detectorist Mr. D. Robinson in October 2004; declared as treasure in October 2005 under the Treasure Act 1996 has gone on display in Mold Museum.
It was acquired for £1,500 from the Department of Culture, Media and Sport by Flintshire County Council with a contribution of £562 from The Art Fund and additional support from the MLA/V & A Purchase Grant Fund.
This finger-ring is of band form and its external surface is decorated with wide, shallow transverse facets which have been created by deliberate hammering. The high gold content and type of decoration has led Mark Redknap, Head of Archaeology and Numismatics at the National Museums & Galleries of Wales, to conclude that the ring was made during the early medieval period, possibly during the 9th or 10th century AD. The decoration has Viking parallels, although there is no direct parallel for this object.
The find comes from Nercwys, a settlement 3km south of Mold within the modern boundaries of Flintshire. Nercwys itself is of possible early medieval date – the Church is first documented in 1291 but architectural evidence points to a pre-1145 date. The nearest Viking finds have been on the North Wales coast, Chester and the significant trading settlement at Meols near the mouth of the Dee on the Wirral peninsula.
Flintshire Museums Service previously held no finds from Nercwys, although it holds significant excavated collections from the surrounding areas.
9th-10th century AD: internal dia. 17mm; max. band width 6mm; max. band thickness 1mm; weight 5.63g: surface analysis by National Museum of Wales indicated a composition of 94-96% gold, 2-4 % silver and 1-2% copper.
My sincere thanks must go to Debbie Snow Principal Museums Officer and Flintshire Museum Services for providing the image along with the information relating to the find.
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