Israel discovers ancient gold ring with amethyst

Israeli archaeologists have found a gold ring dating back to over 1,300 years ago, the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) said on Tuesday, reported Xinhua.

The 5.11-gram ring, set with an inlay of a silica purple stone called amethyst, has been unearthed in an excavation at the city of Yavne in central Israel, the IAA added.

Many functions have been attached to amethysts, including the prevention of the side effect of drinking, the hangover, the archaeologists said.

"It is interesting, given that the ring was discovered at a site where a huge winery operated, the largest in the world known from the Byzantine period," they said.

Gold rings inlaid with amethyst stone are known in the Roman world, and it is possible that the ring belongs to the elites who lived in the city as early as the 3rd century AD, they added.