11-year-old redheaded English boy walking the dog finds Roman gold bracelet

 

Rowan Brannan was walking the dog with his mother Amanda two years ago when he picked up a shiny yellow piece of metal. This is not unusual for Rowan. He likes to scout the ground for interesting things to pick up (don’t we all?), but his mother usually vetoes his pickups. This time he hung on to it, adamant that it was gold even when his mother told him it was probably just a gross old fragment of fence or something.

Turned out young Rowan was right.

It is a decorated bracelet of the armilla type, awarded to Roman soldiers for valor, and dates to the 1st century A.D. As a gold object more than 300 years old, it has officially been declared treasure at a coroner’s inquest.

Rowan should now be given a true Roman name in honor of his find.

Rowanius Brannanus Fortunatus?

A close up of the object, symbol of Roman valor.  

One wonders how the soldier won it.  One wonder then how the soldier lost it!  Perhaps a night of frolic and too much English mead?  Stumbling through the swampy moors back to barracks, chilly rain pelting down, and off it slips, lost to the ages until the approach of sharp eyed young Rowanius Fortunatus centuries - nay, eons later.

A happy ending.

Via the always good History Blog.