The bishop's ring of warder-a falsification?

摘要

A golden ring was found during the excavation of the Slav fortress of Varder in the north-west of Germany. It is one of the most famous objects from slaonic settlment. The rings was thought to have belonged to a bisop and, since it was assumed to be of pure gold, it was exhibited withou any treatment. Recent examinations showed that the ring was heavily corroded inside. Further investigations gave a surprising result: it was in fact a nd iron ring on wich was gilding with gold ornamentation. Whether the ring was made with an iron cre for the reasons of thrift or with the intent to deceive must be answered by archaeologists.