New acquisition at Epping Forest District Museum

Epping Forest District Museum has acquired a nationally significant Early Medieval ring found by a metal detectorist in Matching, Essex- The Portable Antiquities Scheme

The nearly complete gold ring, which dates from 550 to 640 AD, is crafted from a flat sheet of gold. The front of the ring features a bird in flight motif made of garnet and quartz. Surrounding the bird, both on the front and back, the ring is adorned with intricately detailed beaded gold wire.

The central bird motif might symbolize the god Woden, the Anglo-Saxon equivalent of the Viking god Odin. Woden was associated with wisdom, war, death, and magic. In Anglo-Saxon art, birds often represented Woden’s two companion ravens, Huginn (Thought) and Muninn (Memory), who acted as his messengers and spies. This symbol on the ring could have been intended to provide the wearer with the protection of Woden and his ‘raven god’ persona.

You can read more in this BBC article: Saxon ‘Woden ring’ to go on display at Epping Forest museum – BBC News

This stunning piece was purchased with generous support from the Arts Council England/V&A Purchase Grant Fund, the Headley Trust, Art Fund, the Essex Society for History and Archaeology (ESHA), West Essex Archaeological Group – WEAG, Waltham Abbey Historical Society, and private donations. The ring will be going on display in the museum’s Core Gallery in May 2026. Stop by and have a look!