The ring that inspired Tolkien in writing the trilogy of ‘The Lord of the Rings’ and ‘The Hobbit’, exists and has behind its steps a mysterious story full of curses dating from Roman times.

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During the Rule of the Roman Empire over Britain, elite citizens of the time flaunted their status by wearing peculiar rings.

Now, after looking at a set of Brancaster rings, which scientists have dated to the fourth and fifth centuries, researchers have found numerous clues about their owners, who lived during the last days of Roman rule over Britain.

As noted by the University of Newcastle, a Brancaster ring is a type of signet ring with a characteristic square or rectangular bezel, inscribed with characters or text. The rings are named after the Roman Fort and Norfolk village where the first example was discovered in the mid-19^th century.

Experts discovered that the metal used in their construction, just as the images imprinted on them give off numerous details about their owners, who were members of high society in Britain.

One of the rings, in particular, the cursed Silvianus Ring is believed to have been the source and inspired J.R.R. Tolkien as he was writing the Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy.

The so-called Silvanius ring was discovered near Silchester, in Hampshire, England, in 1785. The Ring belonged to a member of a Roman high society called Silvianus but was stolen by a person named Senicianus, upon whom Silvianus called down a curse: ‘To the god Nodens: Silvianus has lost his ring and promises half its value to Nodens. Among those named Senecianus, let none enjoy health until he brings it back to the temple of Nodens.’

In a recent archaeological mission, experts from the universities of Oxford and Newcastle have gathered 54 rings that exist in the United Kingdom and cataloged them all for the first time. Most of the 54 rings were made from silver and only a small number of gold.

In addition to being used as jewelry, the rings were used in ancient times with wax to seal letters and other important documents.

The various rings are unique, mostly made of precious metal and engraved with different designs. Some bare the symbol of soldiers, lovers, and even emperors.

However, some rings feature evidence of incredible Roman Art, as experts have discovered that some rings have intricate designs such as dolphins and mythical sea creatures, as well as sea griffins which have been found frequently in Roman Art.

Speaking about the Rings, Dr. James Gerrard, senior lecturer in Roman archaeology at Newcastle, said: ‘The fifth century was a period of major upheaval and marked the start of the transition from Roman Empire to Anglo Saxon Britain. These rings and their inscriptions provide a glimpse of what Britain was like during these years and give an insight into the dress, beliefs, ideologies and education level of the elite at the time.

Archon or Archons were referred to in antiquity as the servants of the Demiurge, the creator god Standing between the human race and a transcendent God that could only be reached through knowledge of humanity’s real nature as divine, leading to the deliverance of the divine spark within humanity from the constraints of earthly existence.

Archon is also Greek word meaning “ruler,” which was also often used in ancient times as the title of a certain public office in a government.

If we take a look at Archons from a Gnostic point of view, we will understand that in this context, they were considered the angels and demons of the old testament.

Hypostasis of the Archons—the divine creators of the universe and humanity

The rulers laid plans and said, “Come, let us create a man that will be soil from the earth.” They modeled their creature as one wholly of the earth. Now the rulers […] body […] they have […] female […] is […] with the face of a beast. They had taken some soil from the earth and modeled their man after their body and after the image of God that had appeared to them in the waters. They said, “Come, let us lay hold of it by means of the form that we have modeled, so that it may see its male counterpart […], and we may seize it with the form that we have modeled” – not understanding the force of God, because of their powerlessness. And he breathed into his face, and the man came to have a soul (and remained) upon the ground many days. But they could not make him arise because of their powerlessness. Like storm winds, they persisted (in blowing), that they might try to capture that image, which had appeared to them in the waters. And they did not know the identity of its power. (Source)

Also called The Reality of the Rulers, the Hypothesis of Archons is an exegesis—a critical interpretation of a religious text—on the Book of Genesis 1–6 and expresses Gnostic mythology of the divine creators of the cosmos and humanity.

The Book of Genesis is the first book of the Hebrew Bible (the Tanakh) and the Christian Old Testament.

This ancient text was revered among many other from the Nag Hammadi Library. The Nag Hammadi library also called the “Chenoboskion Manuscripts,” or the “Gnostic Gospels” is a collection of a number of ancient Christian and Gnostic Texts found in Upper Egypt in 1945.

The Reality of the Rulers is believed to have been written sometime during the third century CE. Researchers believe it originated from a traditional period in Gnosticism when it was converting from a purely mythological state into a philosophical phase.

The writing is presented as an instruction on the theme of the dominators (archons) of the world mentioned by St. Paul.

The express intention of this writing is to teach the truth about the powers that have authority over this world.

The story begins with the boast of the demiurge, the supreme archon, in words attributed to the God of the Bible: “I am who I am, God is nothing separated from me.”

The Reality of the Rulers is presented as a learned treatise where a teacher approaches a topic suggested by the dedicatee of the work. The treatise starts off with a fragment of cosmogony, which guides to a revisionistic “true history” of the events in the Genesis creation story, revealing a Gnostic distrust of the material world and the demiurge that conceived it. An “angelic revelation dialogue” emerges within this narrative where an angel repeats and elaborates the author’s fragment of cosmogonic myth in much broader scope, concluding with a historical prophecy of the coming of the savior and the end of days.

Bentley Layton, Professor of Religious Studies (Ancient Christianity) and Professor of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations (Coptic) at Yale University writes, “The Reality of the Rulers (‘Hypostasis of the Archons’) recounts the gnostic story from the creation of Yaldabaoth down to Noah and the great flood and finalizes with a prediction of the final advent of the savior, the destruction of demonic powers, and the victory of the Gnostics.

As noted by Roger A. Bullard in his book “The Hypostasis of the Archons: The Coptic Text with Translation and Commentary“, the beginning and conclusion to the text are Christian Gnostic, but the remaining of the material is a mythological account about the origin and nature of the archontic powers peopling the skies between Earth and the Ogdoad, and how these ancient events influence the destiny of man.

Although not related at this point, is it possible that the so-called Archons were somehow connected to the Ancient Anunnaki? Food for thought.

According to the Hypostasis of the Archons, these are the Mythic characters:

The Parent of the Entirety: The invisible virgin spirit

Incorruptibility

The Child: Presides over the entirety

The Four Luminaries: Eleleth and three others

The True Human Being

The Undominated Race

Wisdom: Sophia or Pistis Sophia

Zoe (Life): daughter of Sophia

Yaldabaoth: The chief ruler also called Sakla and Samael

Sabaoth: One of Yaldabaoth’s first seven offspring

Adam: The first human being

Eve: Adam’s wife and counterpart

Cain: Eve’s son begotten by the rulers

Abel: Eve’s son begotten by Adam

Seth: a son through god

Norea: Eve’s daughter

Featured image credit: Used with Permission from Klaus Wittmann Concept art.

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Despite the fact that the discovery sounds like an excellent beginning for a new Indiana Jones Movie—We love Indy—researchers say they have found what they are calling “The Gates of Hell.”

Obviously not in a literal way, this mythical portal to the underworld was mentioned by ancient Greeks and Romans alike.

“This space is full of a vapor so misty and dense that one can scarcely see the ground. Any animal that passes inside meets instant death. I threw in sparrows and they immediately breathed their last and fell,” wrote Greek historian Strabo (64 BCE – 24 CE).

The site discovered by experts is located in the ancient Phrygian city of Hierapolis, now Pamukkale in southwestern Turkey

The great majority of ancient legends refer to the different ways of reaching the underworld, going through different stages that increase the suffering of the soul that leaves the body.

For many Romans, this process began in “the gateway to the underworld” and scientists have recently revealed that the site still exists.

The place is actually a cave that has been rediscovered by researchers from the University of Salento (Italy). The place belonged to ancient Phrygia and was used to perform animal sacrifices by priests.

However, what the ancients considered a reality as a portal to the underworld is something entirely different, and we can thank science.

After finding the location of the ancient ‘portal to the underworld’ scientists have found out why animals that approached the site died nearly instantly.

The cause is an underground seismic activity, through which a large amount of volcanic carbon dioxide is expelled to the surface that killed the animals, but not to the priests performing the sacrifice.

The ancient priests must have surely thought they were favored by their gods, while in fact, it was just science, all along.

Specialists from the University of Duisburg-Essen, in Germany, took samples of the levels of carbon dioxide in the area surrounding the cave and found that the gas forms a kind of “lake” that rises 40 centimeters above the ground.

One of the most surprising facts is that this area continues to be as deadly as it was back in the days of the Ancient Romans and Greeks.

The gas is dissipated by the sun during the day but is more deadly at dawn. The concentration reaches above 50 percent at the very bottom of the lake, rising to around 35 percent at 10 centimeters, which could even kill a human – but, above 40 centimeters, the concentration drops rapidly, reports Science Alert.

However, above 40 centimeters, the concentration decreases rapidly.

“While the bull was standing within the gas lake with its mouth and nostrils at a height between 60 and 90 cm, the large grown priests (galli) always stood upright within the lake caring that their nose and mouth were way above the toxic level of the Hadean breath of death,” the team wrote in their paper.

“It is reported that they sometimes used stones to be larger.”

Archaeological evidence suggests that the site was fully functional until the 4th century AD, but remained a place of sporadic visitation by visitors for the next two centuries. The temple was destroyed in the 6th century AD by Christians, while later earthquakes may have further damaged the site

The research has been published in the journal Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences.

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Featured image credit: Illustration of the arena, with noxious fumes emanating from the gate. Image Credit: Francesco D’Andria/University of Salento