An extremely rare, with a jewelry ring that is believed to belong to a medieval bishop, is tipped to sell for £ 18,000 after he has been excavated by a metal detectorist.
Mark Sell was looking for a muddy field in the historic village of Norfolk of Shipdham when he made the beautiful find.
He groated nine centimeters and to his surprise discovered the treasure in a mud klodium.
The ring dates from the late 12th or early 13th century and has been flawlessly preserved in the last 800 years, with its five original gems still appropriate.
It has a large sapphire in the middle that is surrounded by emerald and grenades.
In the Middle Ages, these rings were associated with bishops. Walter de Gray, the powerful Archbishop of York, was known that he had had one.
An extremely rare, with a jewelry gold ring that belonged to a medieval bishop is tipped to sell for £ 18,000 after he has been excavated by a metal detectorist
The ring dates from the late 12th or early 13th century and has been flawlessly preserved in the last 800 years, with its five original gemstone stones still in place
The bishop of Ely in the 13th century, when King Henry III was sitting on the throne, built a country house in Shipdham.
It increases the prospect that the ring could have heard him.
Mr Sell, a 63-year-old retired firefighter, reported his find to his local finds of liaison officer.
The ring was temporarily shown in the British Museum, but it has now been rejected as a treasure.
Mr Sell, from Swaffham, now sells it at an auction.
He said he was about to call it a day that he had been looking for several hours when he made the discovery.
He said: 'I had been on the field a few times before, but had found nothing important and had detected a few hours with a friend, using my XP Deus Metal detector, when it started to get dark.
Mark Sell was looking for a muddy field in the historic village of Norfolk by Shipdham when he made the beautiful find
It has a big sapphire in the middle that is surrounded by emeralds and grenades
'I got a vague signal and groove about nine centimeters down to find what the best item must be that I have found so far!
'I was surprised to see a thin line of gold in the mud klodium that I had excavated, and while I wiped the mud away, I saw the Bezel of a medieval golden jewel ring.
“I could also see that the ring was complete with all the original jewels who were still in place and were in pristine condition.”
Mr Sell supplies the ring for sale at auctioneers Noonans, Mayfair, London, and will split the proceeds with the landowner.
Shipdham was an established arrangement against the time of the Norman conquest and extensively detailed in the Domesday book of 1086.
Laura Smith, Noonans jewelry expert, said: 'This form of medieval ring, with a main cabin stone, usually a sapphire, surrounded by smaller satellite stones of Collets Set (grenades or robines and robines and emeralds), can be safely dated in the Late 12th century, and is associated and has been raced.
'Other similar rings are one of Walter de Gray, the rich and powerful archbishop of York – archbishop from 1215 – until his death in 1255 – that can be seen in York Minster; As well as the bishop of the Ring van Chichester and the Whithorn Cathedral Ring. '
