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Denis’s historic treasure find
Jan 31 2008 by Linda Elias, Cynon Valley Leader
CEMETERY worker and metal detector enthusiast Denis Pople almost threw away a rare mediaeval ring he unearthed because he thought it was a washer!
Council worker Denis, aged 51, of London Street, Mountain Ash, was at a metal detecting rally in the Cotswolds last September when he discovered the ring – one of only three of its kind ever found in the UK.
It lay just six inches under the soil and when he first spotted it, he had no idea he had made such a fabulous find.
He said: “When I first found it I thought it was an old washer.
“But I cleaned the muck off it and could see the shape of clasped hands on the sides of the ring and I realised it was something interesting.”
The ring was later declared by a Gloucester coroner to be treasure.
Denis and his wife Tina, 53, who are both members of RARE (Rhondda Artefacts and Research Enthusiasts), were working with their metal detectors at Coberley, near Cheltenham, when he found the ring.
Dating back to the 15th century, it depicts a heart, flowers, a crown and a pair of clasped hands, the inquest in Gloucester was told.
Mark Lodwick, finds liaison officer with Cardiff Museum, told the inquest it was a late mediaeval silver gilt finger ring, fully intact and depicting a heart flanked by four petalled flowers.
It compared, he said, with similar rings found in Lincolnshire and Blackburn in recent years.
He said: “It symbolises a heart sprouting flowers.This is to symbolise faith and trust.”
The external diameter of the ring is 23mm and the thickness of the hoop 2.3mm, he added. It weighs 8.6 grams.
“It is more than 300 years old and is likely to be well in excess of 10 per cent precious metal and therefore it can be considered potentially treasure under the 1996 Treasure Act.”
The coroner said that to declare an item treasure he only had to be satisfied that it was more than 300 years old and more than 10 per cent precious metal.
The ring will now be valued and can be purchased by a local museum, with half the value going to the finders and half to the landowner.
Mr Pople said it was the first piece of jewellery he had ever found.
Mrs Pople, whose own finds in the past have included a 4,000-year-old axe head in the Brecon Beacons, coins and a Roman brooch, said: “It’s a lovely ring – I tried it on myself after Denis found it. If it goes to a museum I hope it won’t be left in a drawer and that it will go on display because it is very special.”
Jan 31 2008 by Linda Elias, Cynon Valley Leader
CEMETERY worker and metal detector enthusiast Denis Pople almost threw away a rare mediaeval ring he unearthed because he thought it was a washer!
Council worker Denis, aged 51, of London Street, Mountain Ash, was at a metal detecting rally in the Cotswolds last September when he discovered the ring – one of only three of its kind ever found in the UK.
It lay just six inches under the soil and when he first spotted it, he had no idea he had made such a fabulous find.
He said: “When I first found it I thought it was an old washer.
“But I cleaned the muck off it and could see the shape of clasped hands on the sides of the ring and I realised it was something interesting.”
The ring was later declared by a Gloucester coroner to be treasure.
Denis and his wife Tina, 53, who are both members of RARE (Rhondda Artefacts and Research Enthusiasts), were working with their metal detectors at Coberley, near Cheltenham, when he found the ring.
Dating back to the 15th century, it depicts a heart, flowers, a crown and a pair of clasped hands, the inquest in Gloucester was told.
Mark Lodwick, finds liaison officer with Cardiff Museum, told the inquest it was a late mediaeval silver gilt finger ring, fully intact and depicting a heart flanked by four petalled flowers.
It compared, he said, with similar rings found in Lincolnshire and Blackburn in recent years.
He said: “It symbolises a heart sprouting flowers.This is to symbolise faith and trust.”
The external diameter of the ring is 23mm and the thickness of the hoop 2.3mm, he added. It weighs 8.6 grams.
“It is more than 300 years old and is likely to be well in excess of 10 per cent precious metal and therefore it can be considered potentially treasure under the 1996 Treasure Act.”
The coroner said that to declare an item treasure he only had to be satisfied that it was more than 300 years old and more than 10 per cent precious metal.
The ring will now be valued and can be purchased by a local museum, with half the value going to the finders and half to the landowner.
Mr Pople said it was the first piece of jewellery he had ever found.
Mrs Pople, whose own finds in the past have included a 4,000-year-old axe head in the Brecon Beacons, coins and a Roman brooch, said: “It’s a lovely ring – I tried it on myself after Denis found it. If it goes to a museum I hope it won’t be left in a drawer and that it will go on display because it is very special.”
