Five gold rings...

On the fifth day of Christmas, our true loves (our donors and the Treasure Act) saved for us... five* goooold rings!

* Well, there's been a few more then five over the years. But here's a shiny round-up of five rings that don't always get to see the spotlight. 

You'll probably have met the Sandal Castle ring  and the Ackworth Hoard posy ring before. 

So, let's have a look at five different rings, dating from the Romans to a 21st century drag icon!

Roman ring

This gold ring was found in excavations in Castleford during the 1970s and 1980s. 

It is Roman, and dates to the 1st to 2nd century AD. 

The Roman fort and settlement at Castleford was probably known as Lagentium. The first fort was built around 71 AD. 

We owe lots of what we have learned about the first fort at Lagentium to a rubbish dump! Near to Church Street, a pile of Roman waste had been preserved due to waterlogging.

The fort and settlement in Castleford was important to the Romans. Around 86 AD they levelled the first fort and built a new one with stronger defences. There was also a civilian town, or vicus, which developed nearby.  

Unlike other Roman settlements, Castleford continued to develop after the Roman garrison left. It became an important manufacturing and trading centre in the early 2nd century.

Archaeological digs of the vicus found lots of luxury items, like this ring.

Read more about the archaeological digs in Castleford here

Rosary ring

This unusual looking gold ring dates from the 15th to 16th century AD. It features an inset garnet and nine further lobes (circles). Each of the lobes has a letter on them.

The ten lobes probably relate to the ten prayers of the Catholic rosary. The wearer could keep track of each prayer by looking at or touching each lobe in turn.

The ring was found by a metal detectorist in Pontefract. We acquired it under the Treasure Act. 

The Treasure Act 1996 sets out a clear process to save treasures for local people. Local museums are notified of all potential treasure finds in their collecting area. A museum can save the find for the local community by paying the finder or landowner based on its market value.

Read more about the Treasure Act and what it has helped us save for local people here

Puzzling posy ring

This is a small gold posy ring, dating to between 1600 and 1800 AD. On the outside are geometric patterns and heart and floral shapes. On the inside is the phrase 'no content to your consent'.

Posy rings were popular love tokens. They were often exchanged as engagement or wedding gifts. They could be plain on the outside or be decorated with enamel. The white / grey patches remaining on this ring aren't dirt - they are the remains of an ornate enamel decoration!

Many posy rings would also have a special secret message for the wearer inscribed inside. However, our ring's message is a little bit puzzling! 

Other posy rings included phrases like 'After consent ever content', relating to the gift giver's happiness at the recipient accepting the ring. 

However, our example here says 'No content to your consent'. This sounds more like a rejection to our ears! Or did it mean the giver was 'not content until your consent'? We may never know...

Pretty 'pie crust' post-medieval ring

This pretty post-medieval ring is dated in two parts. The golden ring band dates to between 1700 and 1800 AD. The gem, however, may be older, and could date back to 1500 AD. The off-white gem is probably a pearl. 

This is another post-medieval ring featuring natural and leaf-like patterns. The cushioning around the ring has been described as having 'pie-crust-like' moulding. This particular pearly pie would cost you a pretty penny!

This ring was another metal detectorist find. It was discovered in Darrington. Who knows what other treasures might await under Shakey Wakey's soil?

A one-horse open slaaaay

While this well-loved and well-worn ring might also look hundreds of years old, it's actually from the early 21st century.

It's also perhaps not real gold, and maybe features plastic gems - but because it belonged to Madam Connie, it's priceless to us!

Steven Ogilvie, also known as Madam Connie, is a popular local former drag artist from Wakefield. 

Steven kindly donated several stunning outfits to us in 2019 after Madam Connie hung her up stilettos for the last time. This ring has clearly seen many performances!

Steven also spilled the 'T' about his experiences performing as Connie in an oral history interview. He says performing increased his confidence and helped him through difficult times. Now that's a serious slay.

Discover more about Madam Connie's outfits with Steven and local dressmaker Sue Riley

Have our festive fancies got you into the Christmas spirit? Get stuck in with our sled-load of Christmas crafts and recipes!

100 Years of Collecting: Amazing Archaeology (Anglo-Saxons to Civil Wars)

We’re picking back up our time-travelling archaeological adventure with the Anglo-Saxons!

It follows on from our previous blog exploring prehistory to the Romans.

Anglo-Saxons and Vikings

In the 5th century AD central Roman rule collapsed and Britain dropped out of the Roman empire. Small kingdoms began to emerge in Britain.

In the Wakefield area the British kingdom of Elmet formed. In turn this was taken over by the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Northumbria. 

Very few objects survive locally from the Anglo-Saxon and then Viking periods. This makes what we do have even more special! 

We have these two spearheads in Pontefract Museum:

We also have part of an elaborately carved stone cross shaft on display at Wakefield Museum. 

It dates to the 9th century AD, and was found being used as a doorstep in a shop on Westgate 1000 years later!

The Anglo-Saxon cross shaft at Wakefield Museum, completed with reconstructions of the base and cross. These would have been painted in bold colours.

The most spectacular Viking find from our area is the Stanley Ferry Viking log boat. This is on display in Wakefield Library, kindly lent by York Museums Trust.

The Stanley Ferry Log Boat at Wakefield Library 

The Norman Conquest

The Anglo-Saxon and Viking periods in Yorkshire ended with the Norman invasion of 1066 by William the Conqueror.

Although we don’t have many objects from the Norman period, we do have two awesome places where their legacy can be seen: Pontefract Castle and Sandal Castle.

Pontefract Castle, built in 1070 by Ilbert de Lacy

The standing stone remains at both these sites today are the reinforced replacements for the original Norman wooden buildings. 

These castles were key to turning William’s battlefield victory at Hastings into long-lasting conquest. They maintained dominance over the strategic landscape and the everyday life of local residents.

Sandal Castle, probably built in the 12th century by the de Warenne family.

The Normans didn’t just build castles, however. They also built religious houses such as St John’s Priory in Pontefract. 

When this site was excavated in the 1950s and 1960s, some of the most interesting finds came from graves in and around the church.

This small cross was found around the neck of its owner. It is made of jet (the fossilised wood of the monkey puzzle tree), which was likely washed up on the beaches near Whitby.

The jet cross found at St John's Priory, Pontefract

You can see it for yourself at Pontefract Museum! It also features in the 100 Years of Collecting Online Exhibition.

Lost and Found

Most archaeological finds weren't originally as carefully placed in the ground. 

Many were lost, like this spear head, which was found in the Portobello estate near Sandal Castle. It was probably left behind during the bloody Battle of Wakefield in 1460.

An iron spearhead, probably from the Battle of Wakefield in 1460

Other items were broken and thrown away, like these pottery fragments.

Pottery fragments found at Sandal Castle

Although these fragments may not look impressive at first, when reassembled they from a portable urinal decorated with a boar’s head! 

Given that they were found at the Yorkist stronghold of Sandal Castle, and the boar was a symbol of Yorkist king Richard III - could it be that this was actually used for the ‘royal wee’?

We carefully put the boar’s head decoration back together from its pieces. It is displayed alongside a replica of the urinal at Wakefield Museum.

We don’t know where the urinal was made but only a few miles away a major pottery industry was just beginning. 

Pottery making in Wrenthorpe became so important that the village became known as ‘Potovens’ after the kilns the pots were fired in.

Wrenthorpe pottery was distinctive, with dark colours and shiny glazes. This jug is a prime example! It was also found during excavations at Sandal Castle.

A Wrenthorpe jug, on display at Wakefield Museum and in the 100 Years of Collecting Online Exhibition

The English Civil Wars

A second Wrenthorpe pot also makes our 100 Years of Collecting list - but this time because of its contents!

The Ackworth Hoard consists of nearly 600 gold and silver coins, all buried in a Wrenthorpe pot, along with a gold ring.

The Ackworth Hoard

It was buried in the chaos of the Civil Wars during the siege of Pontefract Castle in the 17th century. It had probably belonged to a Royalist supporter, who wanted to prevent it from being taken by the Parliamentary troops billeted in Ackworth. For whatever reason, the person who buried it was unable to come back and retrieve it. 

The coins in the Ackworth Hoard were worth £85 and 12 shillings. This was a lot of money - around 7 years’ pay for a foot soldier during the Civil Wars.

The hoard remained untouched in the pot for over 350 years – until it was discovered in someone’s garden in the 20th century! 

You can see it for yourself on display at Pontefract Museum.

Even in the middle of a siege, the soldiers in Pontefract Castle needed paying. Being cut off from the outside world made this difficult. Their answer was to create their own home-made coins from reused silver.

The silver would come from luxury tableware and candle-holders owned by the richest members of the garrison. The silver objects were cut up or melted down and reshaped. The 'siege coins' were then cut from the resulting silver sheet. 

You’ll notice that siege coins aren't circular in shape like ordinary coins. This is because it was much easier to cut a straight edge than a curved one!

One of the siege coins produced at Pontefract Castle

This example of a Pontefract Castle siege coin is in the Online Exhibition and on display in the Visitor Centre at Pontefract Castle. 

It has a standard design for these siege coins featuring an image representing the castle itself. It includes the year it was created and the Castle was under siege - 1648.

It also has a morale boosting inscription, which translates as "while I breathe I hope".

Reverse side of the siege coin, featuring Charles I's royal cipher.

That brings us to the end of our amazing archaeology 100 Years of Collecting highlights!

There’s lots more objects exploring the many and varied stories of the Wakefield district in our Online Exhibition.

More 100 Years of Collecting blogs:

Amazing Archaeology (Prehistoric to Romans)

100 Years and Counting

Wakefield’s Sporting Heritage

A trip to the Seaside

100 Years of Collecting: Amazing Archaeology (Prehistoric to Roman)

Our 100 Years of Collecting Online Exhibition spans thousands of years of human history. We’ve got a little bit of everything, from a prehistoric hand axe to a Prime Energy drink!

This month, we’re focusing on some of our amazing archaeology collection highlights. We’ve got so much we’ll post it over two parts.

For part 1, join us on a whistle-stop tour from prehistory through to the Romans:

Prehistoric tools and technology

Did you know that some of the oldest evidence of human life in Britain comes from Wakefield?

It includes this hand axe, on display at Wakefield Museum. It was originally made between 500,000 and 200,000 years ago when humans first settled in Britain.

A Palaeolithic hand axe - on display at Wakefield Museum

It might not look like much today, but flint hand axes like this were crucial multipurpose tools. They were useful for skinning and cutting up large mammals such as mammoths or Irish elk. They were a key invention for human evolution.

These earliest humans were forced out during a long period of Ice Ages and only occasional traces of them can be found today. Our hand axe was found at Lee Moor near Stanley in 1889.

15,000 years ago

The next people to settle in Britain came after the end of the last Ice Age, 15,000 years ago. They followed the migration of large mammals into Britain’s cold, dry climate and open landscapes.

As the climate warmed, trees and forests formed. These were better suited to smaller mammals. Humans had to adapt their hunting techniques and technologies. The new settlers began to use composite tools like harpoons. These harpoons used lots of tiny flints called microliths, moving on from the single large pieces of flint used for the hand axe. 

A selection of microliths on display at Wakefield Museum

The Bronze Age - around 5,000 years ago

By 5,000 years ago, communities were working together to clear forests and begin farming. People were beginning to live in permanent settlements rather than moving around the landscape with the seasons. 

New technologies also reached Britain, like pottery and metalwork. Metal was helpful for the new styles of shafted axes needed to clear woodlands for farming. 

One of our beautiful bronze axe heads features in the Online Exhibition. It was found as part of the Smalley Bight Hoard.

The bronze axe head - the loop would have helped fix it to a (probably wooden) handle.

You can see more on display at Wakefield Museum and Castleford Museum!

Burials: bronze and bones

As people settled into permanent homes, different social classes began to form. The emerging differences in wealth and power become visible in the archaeology.

People who had become wealthy and powerful began to bury their dead in individual graves. This was a change from the shared communal graves that had typically been used. Wealthy people were often buried with very expensive belongings.

Display case containing local Bronze Age burial goods at Castleford Museum

These very fine Bronze Age burial goods are on display at Castleford Museum. They include a bronze dagger and stone wrist guard. 

These came from burials in the landscape around Ferrybridge Henge, which was an important settlement for hundreds of years.

The most important finding from the Ferrybridge Henge is the incredible chariot burial from Ferry Fryston. Chariot burials are very rare, and this one was even more unusual because the chariot was buried whole alongside the rider.

The Ferry Fryston chariot burial at Castleford Museum

Normally, chariots were taken to pieces before burial. To bury it whole meant digging a very large hole for it! 

This chariot is also unusual in that it couldn’t have actually been used for moving around. The wheels are different sizes and some of the bronze fittings were just for show - they are hollow and not nearly strong enough. 

However, it still taught us a lot about how chariots were made and how they worked.

A representation of what experts think the chariot would have looked like

Studying the bones of the body in the chariot has revealed that they belonged to a 30 to 40-year-old man. He would have been about 1.70 metres or 5 feet 7 inches tall. 

Modern archaeological scientific techniques have revealed even more about the burial. Radiocarbon dating has shown that the chariot was buried about 200BC, and isotope analysis tells us that the man buried in the chariot was not originally from the Castleford area.

You can see the chariot burial in all its glory at Castleford Museum!

More on the Ferry Fryston chariot burial

Roman Castleford - just under 2,000 years ago

The Ferrybridge Henge area stopped being as important when the Ancient Romans came to Yorkshire.

In 71 AD the Romans built a fortress at York and a road linking it to another fortress at Lincoln. Around the same time, they built a fort at Castleford, where this road crossed the Aire.

The Roman army is known for marching great distances along the roads they built. This was possibly in part because of the hob-nailed sandals the soldiers wore. Examples of these sandals were found during excavations in Castleford. 

Some of the sandals were so well preserved that re-enactors use replicas based on them and call them ‘Castlefords’!

The well-preserved remains of an Ancient Roman leather sandal found in Castleford

The Roman way of life was adopted by many people in the areas they conquered. However, the Romans also keenly took on elements of those local cultures, particularly their gods and spirits.

One example is the altar to Brigantia, the goddess of the defeated tribe on display in Wakefield Museum. 

We also have a stone dedicated to the nymphs, local water spirits of the Aire. It features in the Online Exhibition and is on display at Castleford Museum:

The stone dedicated to the nymphs, on display at Castleford Museum

More on Roman Castleford

We hope you enjoyed this trip back in time through our amazing archaeology!

Ready to carry on the adventure? Click here for Amazing Archaeology (Anglo-Saxons to English Civil Wars)

Click here to view the 100 Years of Collecting Online Exhibition

More 100 Years of Collecting blogs:

100 years and counting!

Wakefield’s sporting heritage

A trip to the seaside

Ferry Fryston Chariot Burial #FestivalofArchaeology

 Today marks the start of the Council for British Archaeology's #FestivalofArchaeology!

This year's theme is journeys, so we're digging deeper (get it...?) into our fantastic Ferry Fryston Iron Age chariot burial, on display at Castleford Museum.

The chariot was found when the A1 road at #Ferrybridge was being upgraded in 2003-2006.

It had been used for a burial, and a man's body had been carefully buried inside the chariot.

Radiocarbon dating suggests he was buried around 200 BC.

Iron Age chariot burials are rare, and only 21 have been found in Britain so far. This makes our Ferry Fryston one very special!

Even though the wood had almost completely rotted away and only corroded pieces of metal remain, it has taught us a lot about how Iron Age chariots were made and how they worked.

So, who was the man buried in the Ferry Fryston chariot?

Image shows part of the Ferry Fryston chariot display at Castleford Museum, with the skull of the man buried on the left, the brooch from his cloak second from left, and nave hoops from the chariot wheels

Archaeologists studied his skeleton and were able to find out the following things:

🧍‍ The man was aged 30-40, and had been buried lying on his back with his legs folded under him

🦷 Chemical analysis of his teeth suggests he was not local, but from East Yorkshire or even Scotland

💍 He was wearing a cloak pinned at the left shoulder by a brooch, with a round glass head that was originally red [this is the object second from the left]

🛡 Pieces of corroded metal suggest he may also have had a shield

What journeys do you think he would have taken to get here? What journeys was he being prepared for in both life and death?

The Chariot

Burials of Iron Age chariots like this are very rare, so ours is really important!

The chariot would have been mainly made out of wood, and even though this had almost completely rotted away and only corroded pieces of metal remain, it has taught us a lot about how Iron Age chariots were made and how they worked.

1) The large iron tyres would have given the wooden wheels strength to drive over rough ground. Chariots like these certainly weren't driving over planned tarmac roads like the A1 in Ferrybridge today where it was found!

2) These four strong iron bands are called nave hoops, and they would have held together the wheel hubs

3) These are linch pins, which stopped the wheels from falling off.

4) These wooden chariots were pulled by horses, which were controlled by a 'bit' in their mouths. This would have been attached to reins which ran through these terret rings to stop the reins from getting tangled.

What might the full chariot have looked like?

Well our experts think it would have looked like this...

What did you think? Were you close?

It would have been mostly made out of wood, likely with a square seat attached to the two large wheels where the rider would have sat.

This then had a long wooden beam stretching up to where two horses would have been attached to pull the chariot along.

The Burial

This picture shows a drawing of the Excavation Plan of the chariot, which is carefully drawn showing what was found and exactly where it was found. 

This is important, as it helps archaeologists to fill in the gaps of what hasn't survived in the ground (particularly the wood of the chariot) to build the bigger picture!

Down the middle of the diagram you can see the remains of and the indentation made by the original chariot. This is what was used by our experts to design what the full chariot might have looked like.

At the bottom, in the middle, you can see how the man's skeleton was found, with his legs bent behind him.

It also shows you where our items in the display case were found: wheel rings (1), the nave hoops (2-3 and 9-10), the linch pins (6), the terret rings (13 - 17), the horse bit (20) and the brooch would have been on/within the skeleton.

Can you imagine what it must have felt like to find this? Have you made any of your own archaeological discoveries?

Come and see the chariot in all its glory for yourself at Castleford Museum!

Opening hours (FREE ENTRY)

Monday	​9:30am - 5pm
​Tuesday	​9:30am - 5pm
​Wednesday	​Closed
​Thursday	​9:30am - 5pm
​Friday	​9:30am - 5pm
​Saturday	​9:30am - 4pm
​Sunday	​Closed

For lots more information about Roman Castleford. click here