Size 2 3/4 Genuine Ancient Engraved Roman Bronze Ring 200 A.D.

CLASSIFICATION: Ancient Roman Bronze Ring with Engraved Bezel. Mounted onto plaque or shadow box upon request (additional shipping charges apply).

ATTRIBUTION: Roman Thrace, 3rd Century A.D.

SIZE/MEASUREMENTS: Fits ring size 2 3/4 (U.S.)

Diameter: 16mm (outer diameter); 14mm (inner diameter).

Bezel: 9mm*8mm rectangular with rounded corners.

Tapered Width Band: 4 1/2mm (at bezel) * 3mm (at sides) * 2mm (at back).

Weight: 1.09 grams.

Chain: Contemporary gold tone 60 centimeters (24 inches). Other chains available on request; bronze tone, silver and gold plate; sterling, solid 14kt gold, etc., in lengths from 16 to 30 inches. For a more authentic touch, we also have available handcrafted Greek black leather cords.

CONDITION: Excellent! Completely intact, moderate wear, little porosity (surface pitting caused by contact with earth while buried). Professionally conserved.

DETAIL: A well preserved 3rd century A.D. Roman/Thracian engraved bronze ring. The ring is preserved well, only moderately worn in antiquity, so the detail is fairly well preserved. The condition is in a word, superb. It seems little worn, it must have been lost by its owner after only a few years of usage. As you can see, the ring is very bold, handsome, and elegant in design. The raised "bezel", or face of the ring possesses a very nicely engraved geometric design, quite characteristic of the era, a series of superimposed cross hatches forming a diamond. This ring is simply superbly preserved and restored. The diamond-shaped pattern of superimposed crosshatches is deeply engraved, even if the field it creates is a little indistinct. You have to look very closely to see any of the telltale signs indicating the ring was buried for millennia.

Most small artifacts such as this suffer extensive degradation from porosity, which is fine surface pitting caused by prolonged burial in caustic soil. This ring spent over 1,700 years buried, yet by good fortune there is very minimal porosity (fine surface pitting caused by prolonged burial in the soil), it happened to be in very gentle soil conditions. This is an exceptional piece of Roman jewelry, a very handsome artifact, eminently wearable, and even under a jeweler's loop or magnifying glass, there is little discernable degradation due to corrosion, oxidation, porosity, or wear. Rather than the crudely attached separate bezel, the ring possesses an integral bezel, the bezel and bands fashioned from a single piece of bronze. The result is a ring which is very modern and distinctive in appearance – a classic and timeless design. The ring has a very nice patina, a very light tone giving the appearance of ancient gold.

It is a quite remarkable artifact. The ring could easily be worn and enjoyed on a daily basis. It is a bit on the small side for 21st century mankind. The Romans often wore rings on the second (smaller) joint of their fingers, and were also of smaller stature than contemporary populations. It was likely worn by a man of slender build, but it is also possible that it was worn by a lady. The ring could be worn by a child today, and is certainly a suitable design, or by a slender lady on either the ring or pinkie finger. Or it could also be worn as a very distinctive and uncommon pendant. We offer a gold tone chain (depicted above) at no additional charge, upon request. We also have available upon request gold, silver, and bronze/copper tone chains as well. Or if you would like to “upgrade”, we have chains in sterling silver, and 14kt gold available upon request.

If you request (follow the links below), we could mount the ring onto a framed display plaque (see it here), and it would make a great gift. The plaque narrates a brief outline of the history of ancient Rome along with an image of some very famous architectural remains in Rome. It would make a very handsome gift, for yourself or a friend, and would surely delight a son or daughter. It would not only make a very handsome display, but would be very educational as well. If you prefer, the ring could be installed within a glass-front shadow box with or without printed history (see it here).

The Romans were of course very fond of ornate personal jewelry including bracelets worn both on the forearm and upper arm, brooches, pendants, hair pins, earrings intricate fibulae and belt buckles, and of course, rings. This is an exceptional piece of Roman jewelry, a very handsome artifact, and eminently wearable (albeit on a chain for most). Whether worn on a chain or displayed on a plaque, aside from being significant to the history of ancient jewelry, it is also an evocative relic of one of the world’s greatest civilizations and the ancient world’s most significant military machines; the glory, might and light which was the “Roman Empire”.

HISTORY: One of the greatest civilizations of recorded history was the ancient Roman Empire. In exchange for a very modest amount of contemporary currency, you can possess a small part of that great civilization in the form of a 2,000 year old piece of jewelry. The Roman civilization, in relative terms the greatest military power in the history of the world, was founded in the 8th century (B.C.). In the 4th Century (B.C.) the Romans were the dominant power on the Italian Peninsula, having defeated the Etruscans and Celts. In the 3rd Century (B.C.) the Romans conquered Sicily, and in the following century defeated Carthage, and controlled the Greece. Throughout the remainder of the 2nd Century (B.C.) the Roman Empire continued its gradual conquest of the Hellenistic (Greek Colonial) World by conquering Syria and Macedonia; and finally came to control Egypt in the 1st Century (B.C.)

The pinnacle of Roman power was achieved in the 1st Century (A.D.) as Rome conquered much of Britain and Western Europe. At its peak, the Roman Empire stretched from Britain in the West, throughout most of Western, Central, and Eastern Europe, and into Asia Minor. For a brief time, the era of “Pax Romana”, a time of peace and consolidation reigned. Civilian emperors were the rule, and the culture flourished with a great deal of liberty enjoyed by the average Roman Citizen. However within 200 years the Roman Empire was in a state of steady decay, attacked by Germans, Goths, and Persians. In the 4th Century (A.D.) the Roman Empire was split between East and West. The Great Emperor Constantine temporarily arrested the decay of the Empire, but within a hundred years after his death the Persians captured Mesopotamia, Vandals infiltrated Gaul and Spain, and the Goths even sacked Rome itself. Most historians date the end of the Western Roman Empire to 476 (A.D.) when Emperor Romulus Augustus was deposed. However the Eastern Roman Empire (The Byzantine Empire) survived until the fall of Constantinople in 1453 AD.

In the ancient world valuables such as coins and jewelry were commonly buried for safekeeping, and inevitably the owners would succumb to one of the many perils of the ancient world. Oftentimes the survivors of these individuals did not know where the valuables had been buried, and today, thousands of years later caches of coins and rings are still commonly uncovered throughout Europe and Asia Minor. Throughout history these treasures have been inadvertently discovered by farmers in their fields, uncovered by erosion, and the target of unsystematic searches by treasure seekers. With the introduction of metal detectors and other modern technologies to Eastern Europe in the past three or four decades, an amazing number of new finds are seeing the light of day thousands of years after they were originally hidden by their past owners. And with the liberalization of post-Soviet Eastern Europe, new markets have opened eager to share in these ancient treasures.

Bronze is the name given to a wide range of alloys of copper, typically mixed in ancient times with zinc or tin. The Bronze Age followed the Neolithic, and as the name implies, saw the production of bronze tools, weapons and armor which were either hard or more durable than their stone predecessors. Traditionally archaeology has maintained that the earlier bronze was produced by the Maikop, a proto-Indo-European, proto-Celtic culture of Caucasus prehistory around 3500 B.C. Recent evidence however suggests that the smelting of bronze might be as much as several thousand years older. Shortly after the emergence of bronze technology in the Caucasus region, bronze technology emerged in ancient Mesopotamia, Egypt, the Levant (Eastern Mediterranean), Anatolia (Turkey) and the Iranian Plateau. By the late fourth to early third millennium B.C. many Bronze Age Cultures had emerged. Some of the more notable were the Celtic cultures of Middle Europe stretching from Hungary to Poland and Germany, including the Urnfield, Lusatian, and (Iron Age Transitional) Hallstatt Cultures.

The Shang in ancient China also developed a significant Bronze Age culture, noted for large bronze burial urns. Britain’s Bronze Age cultures included the Beaker, Wessex, Deverl, and Rimbury. Cornwall was the principle source of tin not only for Britain but exported throughout the Mediterranean, and copper was produced from the Great Orme mine in North Wales. Though much of the raw minerals may have come from Britain (and to a lesser extent Spain), it was the Aegean world which controlled the trade in bronze. The great seafaring Minoan Empire appears to have controlled, coordinated, and defended the Bronze Age trade. Tin and charcoal were imported into Cyprus, where locally mined copper was mined and alloyed with the tin from Britain. It appears that the Bronze Age collapsed with the Minoan Empire, to be replaced by a Dark Age and the eventual rise of the Iron Age Myceneans. Evidence suggests that the precipitating event might have been the eruption of Thera and the ensuing tsunami, which was only about 40 miles north of Crete, the capital of the Minoan empire.

It is known that the bread-basket of the Minoan empire, the area north of the Black Sea lost population, and thereafter many Minoan colony/client-states lost large populations to extreme famines or pestilence. Thus with the end to the shipping of tin throughout the Mediterranean the Bronze Age trade network is believed to have failed, and the end of the Bronze Age and the rise of the Iron age is normally associated with the disturbances created by large population movements in the 12th century B.C. The end of the Bronze Age saw the emergency of new technologies and civilizations which heralded the new Iron Age. Although iron was in many respects much inferior to bronze (steel was still thousands of years away), iron had the advantage that it could be produced using local resources during the dark ages that followed the Minoan collapse. Bronze also resists corrosion and metal fatigue better than iron. Bronze was still used during the Iron Age, but for many purposes the weaker iron was sufficiently strong to serve in its place. As an example, Roman officers were equipped with bronze swords while foot soldiers had to make do with iron blades.

Domestic shipping is $3.99 for first class mail or $6.99 for Priority Mail. Domestic rates include USPS Delivery Confirmation (you might be able to update the status of your shipment on-line at the USPS Web Site). Canadian shipments are $3.99 for Air Mail; International shipments are $4.99 for Air Mail (and generally are NOT tracked; trackable shipments are EXTRA). I can add most other items I sell to the shipment for only $0.99 each. Your purchase will ordinarily be shipped within 48 hours of payment. We package as well as anyone in the business, with lots of protective padding and containers. Insurance is available for both domestic and international shipments (see “shipping and handling” rates specified for this item below). We do NOT recommend uninsured shipments, and expressly disclaim any responsibility for the loss of an uninsured shipment. Unfortunately the contents of parcels are easily “lost” or misdelivered by postal employees – even in the USA.

If you intend to pay via PayPal, please be aware that PayPal Protection Policies REQUIRE insured, trackable shipments. If you do NOT want an insured shipment, send us a check or money order and deduct the invoiced insurance premium. We do offer U.S. Postal Service Priority Mail, Registered Mail, and Express Mail for both international and domestic shipments, as well United Parcel Service (UPS) and Federal Express (Fed-Ex). Please ask for a rate quotation. I prefer your personal check or money order over any other form of payment – and I will ship immediately upon receipt of your check (no “holds”). If upon receipt of the item you are disappointed for any reason whatever, I offer a no questions asked return policy. Send it back, I will give you a complete refund of the purchase price.

Most of the items I offer come from the collection of a family friend who was active in the field of Archaeology for over forty years. However many of the items also come from purchases I make in Eastern Europe, India, and from the Levant (Eastern Mediterranean/Near East) from various institutions and dealers. Though I have always had an interest in archaeology, my own academic background was in sociology and cultural anthropology. After my retirement however, I found myself drawn to archaeology as well. Aside from my own personal collection, I have made extensive and frequent additions of my own via purchases on Ebay (of course), as well as many purchases from both dealers and institutions throughout the world – but especially in the Near East and in Eastern Europe. I spend over half of my year out of the United States, and have spent much of my life either in India or Eastern Europe. In fact much of what we generate on Yahoo, Amazon and Ebay goes to support The Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, as well as some other worthy institutions in Europe connected with Anthropology and Archaeology.

I acquire some small but interesting collections overseas from time-to-time, and have as well some duplicate items within my own collection which I occasionally decide to part with. Though I have a collection of ancient coins numbering in the tens of thousands, my primary interest is in ancient jewelry. My wife also is an active participant in the “business” of antique and ancient jewelry, and is from Russia. I would be happy to provide you with a certificate/guarantee of authenticity for any item you purchase from me. There is a $2 fee for mailing under separate cover. Whenever I am overseas I have made arrangements for purchases to be shipped out via domestic mail. If I am in the field, you may have to wait for a week or two for a COA to arrive via international air mail. But you can be sure your purchase will arrive properly packaged and promptly – even if I am absent. And when I am in a remote field location with merely a notebook computer, at times I am not able to access my email for a day or two, so be patient, I will always respond to every email. Please see our "ADDITIONAL TERMS OF SALE."