Bronze Age Gold from Wales

This is a thin ribbon of gold that has been loosely twisted, tapering to narrow hooked terminals at each end. This ornament would probably have been worn around an individual’s neck. There is a part break at one point along the ribbon. It must be noted that the object was found deformed and crushed into a ball with two other torcs. Thus its present condition and dimensions are an interpretation of what the original form.

This hoard represents the only known ribbon torcs from Wales, while the main currency is in Ireland, where over sixty examples are known. Over fifty more have been found in Scotland, but in England the number is less than twenty. A recent discovery of ribbon torcs and bracelets at Priddy, Somerset, was also found crushed into a ball.

Gold ribbon torc, 1400-1300 BCE. Ribbon torcs were designed to dazzle and show the wearer’s status. They were made by loosely twisting thin strips of gold. The hook-shaped ends secured the torc in place. When found, the torcs in this hoard were crushed together into a golden ball. Archaeologists have noted a similar pattern elsewhere in Britain. This suggests that the decommissioning of these objects had a particular meaning to the people who buried them.

Project Title: Gold in Britain’s auriferous regions, 2450-800 BC: towards a coherent Research Framework and Strategy. Status: Arts & Humanities Research Council (AHRC) Network Grant funded project (2018-2019)

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