Image Details

Courtesy of the Pushkin Museum/Gold of Troy

Most scholars believe that the 56 small gold rings from Priam’s Treasure are earrings, but some have called them hair-rings. Less than half an inch in diameter, the rings fall into three distinct groups: 30 plain rings with three to six lobes (shown here), 20 slightly more ornate rings with several rows of studs (compare with photo of ornate ring with several rows of studs), and six rings with granulation along the ribs (compare with photo of ring with granulation along the ribs). The first two types of ring are quite common—similar examples have been found at numerous sites throughout Anatolia—but the granulated rings are possibly unique to Troy. Schliemann and his Victorian contemporaries were puzzled about how prehistoric craftsmen attached the small granules of gold to the body of the rings—a skill that had been lost for centuries.