What looked like a coin in a Somerset field turned out to be a gold Roman ring, and now it is staying in the county where it was found.
The South West Heritage Trust said on Tuesday it had acquired the ring, along with a hoard of 297 Roman coins found at the same site near Ilminster, for £78,000.
Kevin Minto, a lorry driver, former soldier and metal detectorist, found the ring in 2018 after first finding Roman coins at the site in 2017.
“It’s hard to explain what if feels like when you find something like that,” Minto said.
“It was like being hit by an express train. At first I thought it was a coin, then a brooch, and then realised it was a ring. You’re a little dumbfounded, really. One of the boys I was with was screaming: ‘We’re rich, we’re rich.’”
Minto, 68, said he was pleased the find would remain local.
“I’m chuffed it’s staying,” he said. “That seems right to me, somehow.”
He said the landowner got half of the money, and he split his half with a metal detecting friend he worked with on the find. Minto said he was able to pay off his mortgage and has cut down his lorry driving to four days a week. He said he may go to three next year.
“The money was only paid out a couple of months ago, so it’s taken a long time,” he said.
He said there was also a dispute over who was entitled to the proceeds because the ring was found on the day of a military veterans’ detecting rally.
“I’m glad it’s all finished now,” he said.
Dating to about AD297, the ring weighs 48 grams. It is unusually large and set with an engraved gemstone showing the goddess Victoria driving a two-horse chariot.
The South West Heritage Trust described it as rare in scale and artistry, and an “unparalleled discovery for Britain”.
Amal Khreisheh, senior curator at the trust, said: “The Ilminster ring is both large and heavy, with elaborate gold work and a beautifully executed intaglio [a technique in which a design is engraved into the surface of a gemstone]. While other examples are known, these elements combine to create a spectacular ring that is only paralleled by continental discoveries.”
Khreisheh said the ring might have been worn on important occasions or could have had a ceremonial function. She said there was a contrast between the simple elegance of the gemstone design and the “extravagant” amount of gold used.
The trust said the gold has not needed cleaning, and flecks of red soil can still be seen in the gemstone. It said more analysis may be carried out to try to find out if the ring was made in Britain or elsewhere.
Khreisheh said the find helped shed light on south Somerset during a period of unrest from 286 to 296.
“It is likely the ring was buried shortly after, in 297, as part of a hoard including coins, lead and pottery objects,” she said.
Khreisheh said there had been a number of wealthy Romans in the Ilminster area at the time, as well as important trade routes.
“Perhaps the ring belonged to a governor, merchant or big landowner.”
Minto said he kept returning to the site after his first finds because coins were scattered across a wide area.
“The coins were all over the place,” he said.
He also found a lead-lined coffin on another occasion. More work may be carried out to try to establish if the coffin is linked to the ring.
“Usually archaeologists handle broken things – such as pieces of pottery or animal bones. Things like this don’t come along very often,” Khreisheh said.
The ring is being taken on a tour of primary schools this month, and an “Ilminster ring discovery day” will take place at the town’s art centre in August. It will then be given a permanent home at the Museum of Somerset in Taunton.
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