Sunday, August 7, 2011

Medieval Sapphire Ring Found Near York

An English metal-detectorist found this lovely ring a few miles south of York, England in 2009. The York Museum has just raised the $60,000 to buy the ring for its collection, and it will go on display soon. The ring is an inch across (2.5 cm) and probably dates to Viking times, in the 10th to 11th centuries AD. Sapphires were very rare in medieval Europe, since they were imported from India, so this ring probably belonged to a very royal person.

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