A stunning medieval gold ring has been found at a social housing site in Oxford.

Oxford Archaeology completed a dig on behalf of housing association A2 Dominion, which is building new flats in Gibbs Crescent, near Botley Road.

In 2019, the city council granted planning permission for140 flats in the street, after a block on the site was destroyed in a huge explosion in February 2017.

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Archaeologists have now revealed a series of fascinating finds.

The excavation completed in September investigated the southern part of Oseney Abbey, before the construction of new apartment blocks.

(Image: Oxford Archaeology) An Augustinian priory was founded on Osney Island, west of the medieval walled town, in the 12th century and rapidly expanded to become a powerful abbey.

The OA team found the stunning gold finger ring in a mud-filled channel, a drain at the former abbey.

Maria Bellissimo, a spokesman for Oxford Archaeology, said the medieval ring dating from AD 1050-1300 was stirrup-shaped.

Other finds from the site include medieval glazed pottery, tile, animal bone, worked stone and also a human tooth found within one of the drains of the early abbey.

(Image: Oxford Archaeology) Carl Champness, senior project manager at Oxford Archaeology said: “I’m very happy that in the end we were able to protect the archaeological remains at this site, but it is also gratifying to see the targeted archaeological work produce important new insights into the layout and development of the abbey. “

Chris Ives, managing director of development & regeneration at A2Dominion, said: “We were pleased to appoint Oxford Archaeology to carry out this work at Gibbs Crescent on our behalf and their investigations have helped us to discover more about the rich history of the area.

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“The archaeological finds are really impressive and will be deposited with the local Oxfordshire museum.

"We look forward to reading the full report into the archaeological discoveries at Osney Abbey once it is published.”

David Radford, the city council's archaeologist, said: “It is is gratifying to see the targeted archaeological work produce important new information about the layout and development of the abbey.“

The medieval ring, found in an abbey drain, was the most striking find.

Open-mouthed beasts form the shoulders of the finger ring, like hooded snakes, separated from the hoop by small double-studded collars. 

The snakes have beading and ribbing down the 'hood' and elongated eyes with small recesses for pupils. Their open mouths have several small ridges along the edges and may be intended to be teeth.

The excavation revealed the remains of a series of stone buildings and boundary walls relating to the wider abbey complex.

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About the author 

Andy is the Trade and Tourism reporter for the Oxford Mail and you can sign up to his newsletters for free here. 

He joined the team more than 20 years ago and he covers community news across Oxfordshire.

His Trade and Tourism newsletter is released every Saturday morning. 

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