Rings are inscribed with words, ‘Accept this dear for many a year.’ Other messages like ‘Honey’ or ‘Sweetheart’ were either carved into metal bezal or engraved into hard stones. It used to be a favourite plot of young romans to place rings in their mouths and challenge young ladies to come up close and see what’s written on them.
The rings with a pair of clapsed hands called ‘dextrarum iunctio’ represented a pledge of engagement to marriage given by the couple. These rings had a long future ahead of them.The fede rings emerges in the middle ages. This motif of 2 clasped used as early as the 12th century remained popular for the next 600 years adapting to changing artistic styles.
In some, the hands are covered with buttoned gloves and there are flowers issuing forth from a heart at the base of the hoop.
might not be that obvious but there are carvings of the clasped hands , 3rd cent
