Penannular gold ring
Late Bronze Age, about 1150-750BC
Found by a metal detectorist at Crawley, Hampshire in 2005
This object is decorated in banding of yellow and paler gold. Corrosion of the silver-rich paler stripes has caused blackening in places. The gap in the circumference is today bridged by green corrosion products, probably deriving from the base metal core of the ring. The function of Bronze Age penannular rings in unknown, but it is likely they were some kind of high status jewellery. None have been discovered in burials which might provide clues as to how they were worn. Perhaps they were earrings or were worn in the hair? Whatever their function, gold penannular rings are evidence that metalworkers were highly skilled in using precious metals during the Bronze Age.