29 October 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

Pictish ring believed to be more than 1,000-years-old found during Burghead fort dig in Scotland

A “remarkable” Pictish ring thought to be more than 1,000 years old has been unearthed by an amateur archaeologist on a dig at the Burghead Fort in Moray, Scotland.

Burghead Fort was a Pictish promontory fort on the site now occupied by the small town of Burghead in Moray, Scotland. The area was thought to have been ‘archaeologically vandalized’ in the 1800s when a town was built on top of it.

The ring, whose center is believed to be garnet or red glass, is presently being examined for analysis by the post-excavation service of the National Museum of Scotland. It is hoped to contribute to our understanding of the enigmatic Picts, whose kingdoms have been lost to time as they had no written record.

Before being found by a volunteer in a dig overseen by the University of Aberdeen, the kite-shaped ring with a garnet or red glass center had been hidden at the Burghead fort for over a millennium.

Despite being a recognized Pictish site, most people believed that its historical significance had been lost when the town of Burghead was built in the 1800s, enclosing most of the fort and removing the stone that was still needed for construction.



📣 Our WhatsApp channel is now LIVE! Stay up-to-date with the latest news and updates, just click here to follow us on WhatsApp and never miss a thing!!



A reconstruction of Burghead (Alice Watterson)

Among the families encouraged to relocate to the new town to support the fishing industry were the ancestors of John Ralph – a former engineer and graduate of the University of Aberdeen who has enjoyed a 50-year association with his alma mater.  When he retired, John Ralph had signed up as a volunteer for the Burghead digs. On the last day of the dig, he found the ring.

Mr Ralph said: “It is a real thrill to dig up an artifact in the knowledge that you are probably the first person to see it for 1,000-1,500 years. It becomes a real guessing game of who owned it, what they used it for, and how it was lost.”

University’s Professor of Archaeology, Gordon Noble has led excavation work, funded by Historical Environment Scotland, over the last three years which has shed new light on the importance of the site and enabled the development of 3-D reconstructions of how it might once have looked.

Professor Noble says that what he was presented with was ‘truly remarkable’.

Photo: University of Aberdeen

“Even before the conservation work we could see it was something really exciting as despite more than a thousand years in the ground we could see glints of the possible garnet setting.

“There are very few Pictish rings which have ever been discovered and those we do know about usually come from hoards which were placed in the ground deliberately for safekeeping in some way. We certainly weren’t expecting to find something like this lying around the floor of what was once a house but that had appeared of low significance so, in typical fashion, we had left work on it until the final day of the dig.”

Professor Noble added: “We will now look at the ring, evidence of buildings, and other artifacts to consider whether the ring was crafted on the site and who such an important piece of jewelry might have been made for.

“We have some other evidence of metalworking and the number of buildings we have uncovered is quite striking. This further indicator of the high-status production of metalwork adds to the growing evidence that Burghead was a really significant seat of power in the Pictish period.”

John Ralph with the ring. Photo: University of Aberdeen

The Picts were descended from native Iron Age people who lived in what is now Scotland, north of the Rivers Clyde and Forth, between 300 and 900 AD, according to the Highland Pictish Trail.

While archaeology can reveal a great deal about these communities, information regarding their kingdoms, cultures, and beliefs has been lost to myth and mystery because none of their written records have survived to this day.

The public will be able to learn more about this find and the ongoing work at Burghead at an open day to be held at the fort on Sunday, September 8 from 10 am to 4 pm.

University of Aberdeen

Cover Image: University of Aberdeen

Related Articles

An Amazing Discovery in the 1900-year-old Rock Church, – Sand Dollar Fossil

5 March 2024

5 March 2024

Located in the eastern province of Diyarbakır’s Eğil district, the rock church, the walls of which are decorated with different...

10,000-year-old rock art discovered in the Indian village of Medikonda

3 July 2021

3 July 2021

Rock art containing tiger, human and animal figures was found at the Jogulamba Gadwal site in Telangana, India. The New...

In Germany, a well-preserved octagonal tower unearthed, which may have been inspired by towers on the city walls of Constantinople

5 September 2023

5 September 2023

During excavations at Neuenburg Castle near the town of Freyburg (Burgenlandkreis) in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt, the extraordinarily well-preserved,...

“If this site (Sharda temple)is restored and conserved, it will attract thousands of Hindus and Buddhists from Kashmir and the rest of the world”

7 August 2021

7 August 2021

Sharda Peeth, a historic learning institution located 200 kilometers (124 miles) from Muzaffarabad, the capital and largest city of Pakistan-administered...

Archaeologists Find Ornate Roman Domƫs in Nimes

25 February 2021

25 February 2021

Archaeologists conducting archaeological excavations in the French city of Nimes have discovered the remains of two high-status Roman domus (houses)....

In the ancient city of Syedra: a unique mosaic with the 12 labors of Heracles depicted on a single panel found

25 July 2022

25 July 2022

During the excavations in the ancient city of Syedra in the Alanya district of Antalya, approximately 164 square meters of...

Battle of the Egadi Islands: Rome’s deadly weapons discovered off Sicily

3 September 2021

3 September 2021

Underwater archaeologists from the Soprintendenza del Mare Regione Siciliana, RPM Nautical Foundation, and the Society for the Documentation of Submerged...

‘Remarkable Archaeological Find’ Metal detectorist unearths Roman cavalry swords in North Cotswolds

18 September 2023

18 September 2023

Authorities announced Monday that two incredibly rare Roman cavalry swords were uncovered in the Cotswolds, England, during a metal detectorist...

A Monumental 3,800-Year-Old Warrior Kurgan Discovered in Azerbaijan

16 July 2025

16 July 2025

A monumental discovery has emerged from the windswept plains of Ceyranchol in western Azerbaijan: a 3,800-year-old Middle Bronze Age kurgan,...

Assyrian seal found in the ancient Kef Fortress built by the Urartians

18 November 2024

18 November 2024

An alabaster seal, believed to be from the Assyrian Empire and belonging to a nobleman, was discovered in the ancient...

2,050-Year-Old Assembly Building Discovered in Ancient City of Laodicea Marks Architectural First in Anatolia

2 August 2025

2 August 2025

During the 2025 excavation season, archaeologists in the ancient city of Laodicea have unearthed a 2,050-year-old Roman-era assembly building with...

4,000-year-old Snake-Shaped Pottery Handle Found in Taiwan

20 February 2024

20 February 2024

National Tsing Hua University archaeologists in Taiwan have discovered a snake-shaped pottery handle dating back approximately 4000 years. Researchers uncovered...

3 mummified skeletons were found in Iznik, western Turkey

8 October 2021

8 October 2021

Archaeologists discovered mummified skeletons dating from the 2nd century A.D. within two sarcophagi at the Hisardere Necropolis in Bursa’s Iznik...

Washi papers discovered inside a 675-year-old Buddhist statue in Japan

3 February 2024

3 February 2024

The carved head of an ancient Buddhist statue hidden in the Myooin temple in Fukuyama, Hiroshima, Japan, has revealed pages...

Hannibal’s Italian Ally: 170 Meters of Fortifications and 450 Roman Lead Projectiles Discovered

20 June 2025

20 June 2025

Archaeologists in Ugento, a city in southern Italy that once sided with Hannibal during the Second Punic War, have uncovered...