Somerset detectorist strikes gold with ‘spectacular’ Roman ring find

Kevin Minto’s discovery near Ilminster, showing goddess Victoria, has been acquired with coin hoard for £78,000

When Kevin Minto, a lorry driver, former soldier and keen metal detectorist, came upon something glinting in a Somerset field, he thought at first it was a coin – potentially quite interesting, probably not amazing.

But the object turned out to be extraordinary: a gold Roman ring, unusually large and exquisitely crafted, set with a finely engraved gemstone depicting the goddess Victoria driving a two-horse chariot.