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Summary

Medieval gold ecclesiastical thumb ring found adjacent to Pilton Churchyard in 1967 on the site of the 12th century Benedictine Priory of St Mary.

Location

Protected Status: none recorded

Other References/Statuses

• Old DCC SMR Ref: SS53SE/107/2

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• FINDSPOT (Constructed, XII to XIX - 1101 AD to 1867 AD (Between))

Full description

Townsend, M. H., 1867, Notes on the Priory of St. Mary at Pilton, 94 (Article in Serial). SDV92456.

A gold ring found in the neighbourhood a few years ago, said to belong to the prior of St. Mary's Priory. It bears two inscriptions: on the inside of the ring: 'nobiscvm. Sit. Ihesv. Adonai'. The front bears a similar inscription in Hebrew. In the centre is a large sapphire, fastened with a pin or rivet of gold, which passes through a hole drilled in the stone. It has been dated to the early part of the 10th century.

Chanter, J. R., 1873, Unknown, 430 (Article in Serial). SDV92457.

The inscription on the inside is Saxon. A thumb-ring, probably ecclesiastical, of the 12th century, found within a ball of clay, and possibly originally hidden.

Reed, M. A., 1978, Pilton. Its Past and People, 38 (Monograph). SDV340752.

Gold ring set with a sapphire, and inscribed with Hebrew and Latin texts dug up in a ball of clay in a nursery garden adjacent to Pilton Churchyard in 1867. Dated to 1100-1130. Probably ecclesiastical.

Cherry, J., 2016, A Medieval Gold Ring Found at Pilton, Devon, 275-278 (Article in Serial). SDV363992.

Note describing the circumstances of the ring's discovery and analyses potential meaning of the inscriptions. The ring was found in 1867 on the site of the 12th century Benedictine Priory of St Mary at Pilton in a ball of clay under the root of a tree. Discovery first mentioned in a letter (22/08/1867) from an assistant in the Department of Greek and Roman Antiquities at the British Museum to Dr Forester, Barnstable. Thought to be an ecclesiastical ring (probably belonging to a bishop) dating to 1200 - 130AD.
Detailed description of the ring and its inscription provided. It is thought that the ring was probably commissioned in the 13th century for an apostate Jew or learned Christian keen to display his knowledge of Hebrew with a strong belief in the amuletic power of stones and numbers. Appears to have been deliberately hidden in a ball of clay and buried, potentially at the Dissolution of the religious house of Pilton.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds

• FDV2878 - RING (XIII - 1201 AD to 1300 AD)

Associated Events: none recorded

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