ROMAN treasures are among the latest finds unearthed by archaeologists in York.
A gold ring and a carved jet pendant were found together as staff from York Archaeological Trust investigated a city centre site before it was redeveloped.
Both are thought to date from the fourth century and archaeologists were delighted to find two such pieces in the same place.
The gold ring is set with an oval stone, probably a carnelian, and is decorated with beaded wires, with decorative pellets in the bezel in which the stone is set.
"Carnelians were favoured by the Romans because of their blood-red colour," said the trust's finds researcher Nicola Rogers.
"This ring is thought to be late Roman, probably from the fourth century."
The jet pendant is an animal, possibly a bear, about one inch tall and standing on a small platform.
"He is almost identical to a find made in 1845 in Bootham where a group of Roman graves were uncovered," said Ms Rogers.
"Like the ring, the bear probably dates to the fourth century.
"To find one beautiful object on a site is a treat for archaeologists; to find two is exceptional."
Roman craftsmen are known to have worked jet, much of it from Whitby, although they also imported it from Spain.
Excavations at the site, on Dixon Lane, off Piccadilly, were carried out during the winter and have been completed.
Archaeologists also uncovered medieval remains on the site from the cemetery of St Stephen's Church, on Fishergate, and are examining the skeletons to find out more about lifestyles of York residents nearly 1,000 years ago, as well as the diseases and injuries which afflicted them.
More than 100 burials were found on the site, with remains of males and females of all ages, dating from the late 11th to the 14th century, when the church was probably demolished and the site abandoned.
All traces of the church building are thought to have been wiped out by Victorian redevelopment.