Neolithic shell ring

The rings are made out of different raw materials, including stone, bone, antler or shell. In this case, the ring was made from a marine mollusc shell – a sea snail of the genus Buccinum. It has been drilled and later polished, and given its dimensions, would have been worn as a ring. The ring was found in a cave on the east side of the Rock and attributed to the Neolithic.

The use of shells to make necklace beads had been widespread since the Palaeolithic, but their use as a raw material to produce rings is somewhat more exceptional; the most common raw material being bone.

In Iberia, these rings are normally found on the eastern coast, with the Valencian region having the most number of finds. They have also been recorded in other parts of Europe, especially in the Mediterranean Basin, such as France, Italy, Greece and the Balkans.