Important Roman find in Ribchester goes on display (From Lancashire Telegraph)

Important Roman find in Ribchester goes on display

6:23pm Thursday 22nd October 2009

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ONE OF the most “exciting and important” Roman finds for two decades has been discovered in Ribchester.

The man’s finger ring, shaped like a snake and made out of bronze, was found by the River Ribble.

It is the first time a piece of jewellery has been found in the village since the major excavation of St Wilfrid’s churchyard two decades ago.

The find will now go on display Roman Museum in the picturesque Ribble Valley village alongside another new exhibit, a bronze ring from a horse’s harness, measuring two inches in diameter, which was found in Ribchester 30 years ago and has just been donated.

Museum curator Patrick Tostevin said the ring was the most exciting Roman object to be handed in by a member of the public for several years.

He said: “When it was bought in I was very excited because it was a genuine Roman object and we haven’t had a find like this for some considerable time.”

The curator, who has worked at the museum for 16 years, believes that both objects date back to the first or second century AD.

The finger ring was spotted a stone’s throw away from the museum by Nigel Tucker, from Maghull, as he walked along the River Ribble.

He said: “I saw something glinting in the soil. I picked it up and felt very excited as it clearly looked ancient.

"I knew it was Roman and I took it home and looked it up on the internet.”

Mr Tostevin said the ring was well preserved as many bronze objects survive remarkably well in water logged conditions.

He believes it could have been worn by a soldier serving at the fort.

He said: “It is just exquisite and we couldn’t have wished for anything better.

"Jewellery is rarely found either on excavations or casual finds.

"We’ve nothing like it in our colletions and think it is unique.

“The public will be stunned by how well it has kept after hundreds of years buried in soil.”

>>> ROMAN RIBCHESTER

The earliest Roman fort in Ribchester was established in the early 70s AD as part of a network of defensive forts across northern Britannia.

The fort accommodated a garrison of cavalry troops who patrolled the surrounding area and kept the local inhabitants under control.

The civilian site outside the fort was extensive and covered an area more or less corresponding to that of the modern village.

Craftsmen plied their trades in the ‘vicus’ providing essential goods for both civilians and military personnel alike.

The ‘vicus’ was also the site of the baths, the most substantial stone built construction outside the fort, and at least two temples, fulfilling important social and religious functions.