Welsh Treasure Trove Reminds Us of the Memento Mori
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A recently uncovered trove of artifacts in Wales has been officially designated as a treasure, meaning that the collection of coins, rings, and other personal items which belonged to Welsh nobles from the 9th to the 17th must be given over to the staff at the National Museum of Wales. Among the horde was a gold finger ring from Carreghofa Community, Powys. Pictured above, the ring features a skull and is also engraved with the Latin phrase “memento mori.” It means “remember that you die.”
The ring is a perfect example of the larger memento mori type of art that we find throughout history. It’s art that reminds people of the inevitability of death, types of which we find all over history. Death is, after all, one experience that every human will eventually share, so of course depictions and reminders of it are near-universal.