Incredible 700-year-old gold ring in immaculate condition found hidden in muddy field… & it hides a tear-jerking message
A METAL detectorist is celebrating after finding a beautiful posy ring that has been buried in the ground for 700 years.
Richard Girling, a tree surgeon, uprooted the gold ring while searching a muddy field in Norfolk.
The 63-year-old brushed off the dirt to read a Latin inscription along the outside of the band.
When translated it reads ‘I love you faithfully.’
Despite being in the ground for so many years the ring is still in immaculate condition.
Posy rings were given as expensive love tokens between men and women in Medieval and Tudor times.
Richard, 63, made the find in March 2024 in the village of Merton, near Thetford.
He is now selling it through auctioneers Noonans of Mayfair, London, for £8,000.
Richard, who has been metal detecting since he was 16, said: “On the day I found the ring, the ground was very wet, and I was aching from walking all day around the field that I have visited many times.
“I got a signal in one patch of the field; the soil was very black, maybe where a pond used to be, so I dug down three inches and found a gold ring. It was beautiful.
“It is one of my best artefact finds. I have found coins in the past. It is nice to have something in your hand that hasn’t been touched for hundreds of years and imagine what were the people like, why were they there?”
The ring was subsequently disclaimed as treasure and Mr Girling will share the proceeds of the sale with the landowner.
Laura Smith, jewellery expert at Noonans, said: “Romance and jewellery have always been closely entwined, and during the medieval period it became popular to inscribe a short love message or ‘posy’ on a gold ring to be given to your beloved.
“The intimacy is enhanced by the fact the message is worn right next to the skin and is really just for the wearer to behold.”
She added: “Merton Hall was built in 1613 on the site of a house which had been in possession of the de Grey/de Gray family since the mid 14th century, and prior to that of their ancestors in the female line, the Baynards, to whom the property was granted at the time of William the Conqueror.
The ring will be sold on March 26.