About This Artifact
A small, thick ring with an intricate hand-chiseled floral pattern, sized to fit a woman's finger. The band shows evidence of at least two different metals, including what appears to be silver used in repairs, along with crude joining work that indicates pre-industrial manufacture. A central flower motif dominates the design.
Metal detection expert Gary Drayton recovered the ring in the swamp during Season 7, working along the northern edge near the beach road. At the Oak Island Research Centre, archaeologist Laird Niven examined it under a Grobet digital microscope and noted the central flower, the mixed-metal composition, and the rough joining technique.
Professor Charles Lewton-Brain of the Alberta College of Art and Design confirmed via video conference that the floral design was chiseled entirely by hand, a technique used before saw blades became available to jewelers around 1730. He dated the ring to before that year and identified the pattern as European in origin, possibly Spanish. The connection to Spain echoes the 1652 maravedi coin previously recovered from the same swamp, and both finds place European activity on the island well before the Money Pit's discovery in 1795.
Historical Context
Gary Drayton & Rick Lagina
Where It Was Found
Found at Swamp.
