Byzantium in Baden-Württember

What looks like a signet ring is a soldered gold coin from Byzantium. The ring was found in Pfahlheim, however, in present-day Baden-Württemberg. The discovery site was a burial site where numerous mounted knights were interred. They were responsible for the security of traffic and trading routes along what was then the Alemannic border. As a result, a large number of long-distance trading goods were contained in the graves from far-off regions – ranging from Anglo-Saxon islands to the eastern Mediterranean. Rings, as timeless pieces of jewellery for men and women, were a sign of power and a status symbol from the earliest times. The border soldier – the original wearer of this ring – must have been of accordingly high social rank.