Was Lord of the Rings author J.R.R. Tolkien inspired by a real-life (and, according to ancient legend, cursed) golden Roman ring when he created the One Ring for his stories? Possibly.
A 12g gold ring (bearing the Latin inscription “Senicianus live well in God”) went on exhibit this month at The Vyne in England. “The ring was probably found in 1785 by a farmer ploughing a few miles away within the walls of Silchester, one of the most enigmatic Roman sites in the country – a town which flourished before the Roman invasion, was abandoned by the 7th century and was never reoccupied,” recounts The Guardian (via io9).
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