See the 'Spectacular' Gold-and-Gemstone Ring a Roman Likely Buried for Safekeeping 1,700 Years Ago

The band is gold and the gem is a nicolo, or little onyx. South West Heritage Trust An English metal detectorist found a gold ring in a field. The jewelry’s ornately carved setting encompassed a blue gem engraved with a telling image: the Roman goddess Victoria, two wings protruding from her back, driving a horse-drawn chariot.

Previously, Minto had found a hoard of Roman coins and a lead coffin at the site in England’s southwestern Somerset region, near the town of Ilminster. But the gold ring, unearthed in 2018, became the field’s most valuable find.

Along with the 297 Roman coins unearthed there, the ring was declared treasure. So began a long process of payouts and hands-changing. In the end, the South West Heritage Trust charity purchased the ring and coins for nearly $105,000. Half of the treasure’s value was paid to the owner of the field in which it was discovered, reports the Guardian. The other half went to Minto, and he split it with a fellow detectorist.