1,000-year-old ring discovered by a forgotten tribe in Scotland

According to the University of Aberdeen, the team that led the excavation, “the kite-shaped ring with a center made of garnet or a type of red glass” was discovered by a volunteer at a fort in Burghead, northeast Scotland.

John Ralph, a former engineer who volunteered for the Burghead excavation, was the one who discovered the ancient ring.

Scientists say the discovery of the kite-shaped ring has shed more light on Pictish life and society. Photo: University of Aberdeen

What Ralph found was “very special,” said Gordon Noble, the archaeology professor who led the excavation. “We found it really exciting because, despite being buried underground for over a thousand years, we could still see the garnet’s sparkle,” Noble said.

The ring has been identified as belonging to the Picts, an ancient people who lived in what is now eastern and northeastern Scotland. Little is known about them, and “only limited and disputed sources survive to document their six-century existence,” according to the University of Aberdeen website. All traces of the Picts disappear from records by the 9th century AD.

Noble explains that "very few Pictish rings have been discovered, and those that we know about are usually from hoards that were deliberately placed underground to preserve them in some way."

"We didn't expect to find it on the floor of a house that we thought was of little importance, so we excavated there last," Noble said. The ring is being analysed by the National Museums Scotland Post-Excavation Service.

Ha Trang (according to CNN)

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/phat-hien-chiec-nhan-co-1000-nam-tuoi-cua-bo-toc-bi-lang-quen-o-scotland-post310827.html