Poison Ring Used for Political Murders in 14th Century Bulgaria Discovered [PHOTOS]

Archaeologists in Bulgaria have discovered a fourteenth century bronze ring that might have been used for killing people in the era.

The ring was found from an excavation site at Cape Kaliakra, located about 12km west of the Black Sea coastal town of Kavarna in northeast Bulgaria, the city's municipality announced in a statement.

According to archaeologists, the ring is well-preserved and the only such find from the site where excavation since 2011 has revealed more than 30 pieces of gold jewellery.

The exquisitely crafted ring, probably worn on the little finger of right hand by a male, has a hole with a cartridge which suggests that it was used for pouring poison into drinks.

"I have no doubts that the hole is there on purpose and the ring was worn on the right hand, because the hole was made in such a way so as to be covered by a finger, so that the poison can be dropped at a moment's notice," Dr. Bonnie Petrunova, deputy director of the National Institute of Archaeology with Museum in Sofia, who led the dig said. "Clearly, it was not worn constantly and would have been put on when necessary."

Kaliakra was the capital of a short-lived, 14th-century principality in the Dobruja region, which was ruled Despot Dobrotitsa. The father-son is known for their hatred for each other in the Bulgarian history.

The ring was found where the Despots of Dobruja lived. It is most likely connected with the political conflict between Dobrotitsa and his son, Petrunova added.

"This explains many of the unexplained deaths of cape among nobles and aristocrats close to Dobrotitca," he concluded.