A gold ring dating back to ancient Roman times has been found near Aldborough.

An inquest to determine whether the ring should be deemed treasure was held at Northallerton Coroner’s Court yesterday.

Senior coroner Jonathan Heath told the inquest the ring was discovered by a man named Stuart Campbell on January 20 near Aldborough, which is renowned for its Roman connections.

Mr Heath said Mr Campbell was metal detecting in the area when he came across the ring.

The inquest heard the item was a “gold finger ring” with “mounted intaglio”.

The intaglio, which refers to engravings on the ring, depicts a bunch of grapes, Mr Heath added.

A document read in court said the ring was formed of a flat section of gold and the engraved area is “red or orange in colour”.

Mr Heath also said based on similar items in the coroner’s treasure database, which were attributed to the second and third centuries, the ring is likely to date back to a similar time period. 

The ring was declared treasure at the end of the hearing.

No details of what will happen to the ring, including whether it would be sold to a museum, were heard in court. 

Aldborough, which is a mile from Boroughbridge, was the capital of the largest Roman tribe in Britain.