Posted on 06/03/2009 10:17:01 AM PDT by BGHater
A medieval silver ring dating back more than 800 years has been unearthed on a farm in Northern Ireland.
The 12th century artefact was found by 17-year-old Conor Sandford as he was putting up a fence post at the edge of one of his father's fields near the village of Kilmore, Co Armagh.
The teenager told a treasure trove hearing in Belfast today he initially thought the engraved finger ring was a ring pull from an old fizzy drink can.
"Only when I was putting the soil back into the hole did I notice this wee thing sticking out," he said.
"You know I thought it was a ring pull, off a Coca Cola can."
The item was in fact a ring that experts at the Ulster Museum in Belfast have dated to circa 1170.
The Sandford farm lies on land adjoining Kilmore parish church - an area acknowledged by archaeologists as a significant medieval settlement.
After making the discovery last summer, Conor contacted Helen Geake from Channel Four's Time Team, who advised him to get in touch with the Ulster Museum.
Cormac Bourke, the museum's long standing curator of medieval antiquities, explained the ring would have belonged to someone of wealth.
"It must pertain to middle or upper echelons of society, but we can't say if it was owned by a man or a woman," he said during the hearing at Belfast's Mays Chambers
Such cases are held before the Coroners Court in Northern Ireland to determine whether the items are treasure and thus belong to the Crown.
In order to qualify for that status, the artefact has to be more than 300 years old and be 10% constituted of precious metal.
Conor Sandford (left) with Ulster museums curator Cormac Bourke
Bling ping.
I knew I dropped it somewhere over there on my last visit to Ireland.
Belong to the Crown? What rubbish. People would be fools to reveal findings then.
Nice.
IRS, same deal here. ‘reveal findings’.
I'm not a big fan of jewelry from the '70s...
Anything I dug up from my yard would be mine. Of course I wouldn't be broadcasting the find to the world.
> Belong to the Crown? What rubbish. People would be fools to reveal findings then.
I believe when the Crown claims such treasure, the finder gets paid as does the person whose land it was on. It’s not like they just take it without compensation. The artifact goes into a local museum, where it belongs.
I think that’s a great way to ensure that a Nation’s treasures don’t end up in some foreigner’s possession. Just because somebody “found” something doesn’t make it theirs — that’s an old Common Law principle.
LOL! I had one of those. Also had a puzzle ring.
> Anything I dug up from my yard would be mine.
In most Commonwealth countries, it actually wouldn’t. If you attempted to keep something you found, you could be charged with “Theft by Finding”, which is actually a fairly antient and serious crime. As it should be.
So glad I live in America. I own my land, and anything I find there is mine.
"Give us that, Deagol, my love..."
> So glad I live in America. I own my land, and anything I find there is mine.
I wonder if that’s actually as true as you think. If there were a seam of gold 250 feet beneath your house, I wonder if you would be allowed to mine it.
If I had to guess, I’d guess you wouldn’t be.
The IRS only gets what they have 1099 or W2 on. Otherwise, I guess it just doesnt exist. This is the exact reason we are having Tea Parties. If a person goes and does some risky work and get paid in cash, why would they feel an oblgation to give up 30% of it to tax? That is why the internet is full of offers for barter and cash, and it is only getting more so by the day.
Around here if you try to hire a person it is so many dollars in cash. If you pay by check or otherwise, it is 50% extra. I can assure you that if I find a big value at the lake or the fairgrounds or otherwise, I will do my honest best to locate the rightful owner, and if that fails, then it just turns to cash, with no obligation to reveal findings.
This area is almost total cash economy now.
Did you buy the mineral and water rights when you bought the land?
No, I agree. It’s that every country has a ‘crown’, us Uncle Sam, them the Queen.
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