Roman ring found in Broxted after 1,600 years Published duration 1 November 2019

image copyright Colchester and Ipswich Museum Service image caption The gold Roman ring was found in a farmer's field

A "prized" Roman gold ring was found in a farmer's field more than 1,600 years after it was lost.

The piece of jewellery, which is inset with an amethyst, was found in Broxted, near Saffron Walden in Essex, in November 2017.

Sophie Flynn, finds liaison officer for the Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS) at Colchester Museum, said it would have been a "prized possession".

The ring was declared treasure at an inquest at Essex Coroner's Court.

image copyright Colchester and Ipswich Museum Service

Ms Flynn said the ring dated from between AD300 and AD399 - towards the end of the Roman occupation.

She said: "The small band size suggests this was a ladies' ring or that of a young man or woman.

"Jewellery like this was commonly worn by Romano-British people, who both produced items locally and imported them from elsewhere in the [Roman] Empire.

"This particular example was lost over 1,500 years ago, and was only rediscovered in 2017, when it was found by a detectorist."

Essex and East Anglia has strong links to the Romans with Colchester, then called Camulodunum, claiming to be Britain's oldest town