Ref. 75795-20A 500-year-old wedding ring found near Swindon has been officially declared treasure trove.

The 15th century ring was found by metal detector Mark Gillett, 42 of Haydon Wick in spring 2003 in a ploughed field near Purton.

The Wiltshire Heritage Museum in Devizes hopes to buy it from him.

Mr Gillett, a warehouse worker said: "I had been working this piece of land for some time with little success, only a few pieces of pottery, so I was delighted when I found the ring.

"It was five or six inches below the surface and in particularly good condition, it only looked a little worn."

The inquest in Swindon on Wednesday heard that the medieval treasure has the words "toute ma vie" Latin French for 'all my life' inscribed in the inside, suggesting it might have been a wedding ring.

Mr Gillett handed the ring to experts to be analysed.

It was found to be gold and to contain more than the 10 per cent precious metal content needed for treasure.

Wiltshire coroner David Masters said that the piece would now be valued and that Mr Gillett would receive its current market value, with monies split between Mr Gillett and landowner Ailsa Barker. Talking after the hearing, Mr Gillett said: "We are probably going to give the proceeds to the tsunami appeal."

Experts on the Treasure Trove Evaluation Committee will now determine the exact value of the piece.

The museum, which did not want to give an estimated value for it, is now waiting to hear whether it will be able to afford to buy the piece from Mr Gillett.

Museum curator Paul Robinson said it would be nice to keep it in the county.

"It depends on the valuation, it now goes to the Treasure Trove Valuation Committee. If we have enough funds we would like to buy it.

"It is very nice to see a gold ring with a French inscription found in Wiltshire. And it is a particularly romantic ring."

Mr Gillett said: "The ring has a sort of Lord of the Rings feel about it especially with this special inscription on the inside.

"Something like this would probably have been worn by the lord or lady of the manor, commoners would never have been able to afford a gold ring, they would have had bronze rings."

"I would like to think it was probably lost in a fit of temper by the lord or lady.

"Something like this would have been quite valuable at the time, so it would have been a great loss to them."

Anthony Osborne