A rare silver Viking ring found in a corn field near Hoogwoud in the province of Noord Holland has been bought by the Dutch museum for antiquities RMO in Leiden for an undisclosed sum.

The ring, which dates from the 10^th century and will form part of the museum’s medieval artefacts collection, was found by a metal detector enthusiast in 2019.

The northern Netherlands was used by Scandinavian Vikings as a base for attacks on cities further inland at the time. It is likely that the ring was lost during one of these raids, experts said. The newly acquired ring is similar to a gold one found in Friesland.

The Viking ring is too large to be worn on the finger and showed wear in one place which means it was probably kept around the neck on a strip of leather. Vikings often wore miniature versions of treasured possessions as ornaments, such as axes and swords. The ring may be a smaller version of a thick Viking neck torc.

The museum said the ring is a welcome addition to the collection because finds from the 10^th and 11^th centuries are rare in the Netherlands. An exhibition about these finds is currently being prepared by the museum.