Comments on: Hard Rubber Ring Discovered

By: Olin Karch

Olin Karch — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 22:27:53 +0000

It was only about a year ago that I learned the significance of a similar ring I have. It was said to be my great-grandmother’s wedding ring. It is hard rubber with silver inlaid rectangle, hand and heart on the sides. It’s possible that my great-grandfather made it, as he spent three years in northern prison camps during the Civil War. Here is a link to a photo of it.

http://www.olinsweb.com/images/wedding%20ring.jpg

By: David Bush

David Bush — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 18:12:37 +0000

Sometimes we get pretty excited when finds are made. You are right, but in the moment, unique just didn’t seem enough. However, maybe we can change it to very rare.
dave bush

By: Paul Schulte

Paul Schulte — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 02:43:56 +0000

Hi Guys,
Just the English teacher in me but the word unique is a superlative. A thing is unique or not unique. It cannot be very unique.

By: David Bush

David Bush — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 17:49:29 +0000

Marilyn,
All we needed to do to clean the ring was use water at first. Lime had attached to the hard rubber and set materials, so I used a bit of citric acid to clean that off. It still needs a bit of cleaning, but I wanted to wait till we were out of the field. Typically, we find hard rubber items with almost no deterioration problems. The sets are glued in using what I think is melted hard rubber. I have yet to see one fall out that was found archaeologically.

By: Marilyn

Marilyn — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 15:39:58 +0000

Hi,
I wonder how it was cleaned? If it was founf ina latrine, did the bacteria die a long time ago? I imagine that it was soaked, but then the stones might fall out.

Thanks for any feedback.

By: David Bush

David Bush — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 20:45:23 +0000

Tina,
The hard rubber the prisoners used in their jewelry making typically came from either hard rubber buttons or chart rules (imagine a foot long ruler) which they may have bought from the sutler or had sent to them by friends. We have found lots of examples of hard rubber waste pieces, especially in our excavations of Block 4. When I have a minute, I will try to post a few examples.

By: Darcy

Darcy — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 20:25:27 +0000

Congrats Hannah! Great find.

By: Tina

Tina — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 16:33:36 +0000

I would imagine that the prisoners may have been able to find shell and stone in the compound, but where did the rubber come from?

By: Marcia George

Marcia George — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 21:19:16 +0000

Way to go Hannah on a spectacular find! Could the stone in the ring possibly be mother of pearl or some type of lightly colored opal? Were those materials available to the POWs?

By: David Bush

David Bush — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 21:02:29 +0000

Mark,
We have not been able to determine yet what type of stone the center set is made from. It looks like it may be either marble or possibly a softer soap stone. Once we get our geologist to look at it, I will post the results.
dr. bush