19th-Century Geologist’s Ring Found on African Beach

A metal detectorist, Cornell Swart, found a mourning ring on a beach in South Africa in 2022.

The ring was engraved with the name of 19th-century Scottish geologist Hugh Miller and his birth and death.

It was discovered at Gordon’s Bay near Cape Town.

The ring was given to Hugh Miller’s Birthplace Cottage & Museum in Cromarty. It is now being displayed for the first time.

Mourning jewellery was popular in Miller’s time. The 18-carat gold ring is engraved with the words: “Hugh Miller, Born Oct 10th 1802, Died Dec 24th 1856.”

Besides being a geologist, he was also a writer and a social justice campaigner.

The ring is believed to have belonged to Hugh Miller’s daughter, Harriet, who moved to Australia after his death in 1856.

Photos show her wearing a similar ring. It’s unclear how it ended up buried in the sand.

It may have been sold, stolen or lost overboard from a ship bound for Australia.

Debbie Reid, the museum’s visitor services manager, said, “Harriet travelled to Australia in 1870.” “Her children returned to the UK in 1884,” she added.

Since many ships stopped in Southern Africa, it is possible the ring was lost on one of these journeys.

Cornell Swart told the Friends of Hugh Miller Group she kept searching after finding “some old pennies and buttons”.

The moment she realised the ring was historically important, she was “over the moon”.

Hugh Miller’s mourning ring was found buried among rocks, fitting for his work with fossils.

The National Trust hopes it will draw visitors to learn about his legacy.

It will be displayed alongside a mourning brooch from Australia, bought in 2007.

About Hugh Miller

Hugh Miller was born on October 10, 1802, in Cromarty, Scotland. He loved reading and exploring nature.

His father, a shipmaster, died at sea when he was five.

After being expelled from school, he became a stonemason at 17, which sparked his interest in geology.

While working with stone, Miller started studying fossils, especially those from ancient Scottish rock formations.

Miller was also a writer who collected Scottish folklore and shared stories about the past.

His book The Old Red Sandstone (1841) made these discoveries easy to understand and gained him recognition.

His research on fossilised fish was especially important.

He wanted science to be accessible to everyone and believed in both religion and geology.

However, he disagreed with a literal reading of Noah’s Flood.

As editor of “The Witness”, he spoke out for workers’ rights, education, and social justice.

He also struggled with mental health. On December 23, 1856, he sadly took his own life after finishing his last book, “The Testimony of the Rocks”.

Today, Miller’s work is still remembered. His childhood home is now the Hugh Miller Birthplace Cottage & Museum.

In 2022, a mourning ring with his name on it was found on a beach in South Africa.

His mourning ring, which was found on a beach in South Africa, has been returned to the museum, keeping his memory alive.