Nicked and ‘nicked’: The Knaresborough gold ring and a possible Viking-redeposited Iron Age hoard from eastern England
Dr Tess Machling
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The Knaresborough ring is a unique find. Found in 1994 in Knaresborough, Yorkshire, the ring is made from sheet gold and displays many characteristics typical of Iron Age goldwork. However, the form of the ring is not typical of the period and corresponds most closely to Scandinavian-influenced ‘rings’ of the later 9th and early 10th centuries.
In this talk, I will suggest that the ring has a complicated biography, spanning a millennium, which started with a buried Iron Age torc hoard and ended with some Viking Great Army thievery in the late 9th century. This theory is supported by other finds from Nottinghamshire, Yorkshire and Lincolnshire which have produced apparently Viking-modified Iron Age goldwork from this period.
Dr Tess Machling is an archaeological researcher with a background in field archaeology and artefact studies. Since 2015 she has been researching Iron Age gold torcs and has published widely on the topic. This research takes a craft perspective on Iron Age gold and centres the insights of goldsmiths, silversmith and jewellers in its conclusions. The results of this research can be found on her website at www.bigbookoftorcs.com
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