Gold jewellery has been present in the archaeological record since about 4000 BC, but we are unfortunately short of golden rings in our stores. I did find a carved glass bead once inset into a ring and who knows it could have been gold.

Instead we have gone for an Intaglios; an engraving carved onto a flat surface, often mounted onto a ring. Intaglios start in the 7th century BC in the near east but our example is Romano British and depicts a female figure raising a spear in the air. Originally they were a sign of status and made of semi-precious stones such as jasper or amber. They were both decorative and functional being used to impress a seal into liquid wax. Like many prestige items the general population caught onto the fashion and began to reproduce them in more affordable materials. This style eventually developed into the cameo so popular with the Victorians, where a portrait was carved in relief instead of inset showing the change in use from functional to decorative.

Romano-British Intaglio

Feature image recreated from Xavier Romero-Frias https://es.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archivo:XRF_12days.jpg under CC license