Volunteer Stumbles Upon 1,000-Year-Old Pictish Ring at Scottish Fort

A volunteer digger in northern Scotland has unearthed what archaeologists are calling a remarkable and extremely rare discovery: a Pictish ring dating back over a thousand years. The find was made in Burghead, Moray, at the site of an ancient fort believed to have been a key power center during the early medieval Pictish kingdom, between AD 500 and 1000. The ring was uncovered during an excavation led by the University of Aberdeen and is now undergoing detailed analysis by specialists at the National Museum of Scotland. The discovery adds a significant piece to the puzzle of Scotland’s little-understood Pictish past.

A Lucky Moment on Familiar Ground
The ring was discovered by John Ralph, a 68-year-old retired engineer and graduate of the University of Aberdeen, who joined the archaeological dig as an enthusiastic volunteer. Though he had participated in previous digs at the Burghead site, Ralph joked about his tendency to get excited over “shiny pebbles.” This time, however, he uncovered something far more significant.