Bronze Age Gold from Wales

Middle Bronze Age gold flange-twisted bar torc

This is a large, roughly circular torc or neck-ring, coiled three times. The bar of gold was hammered into four ‘flanges’ and then twisted clockwise to create a ‘flange twisted’ form. The twists are relatively even all the way round, except for towards one end where there are two short sections of tighter twists. The hooked terminals of the bar are plain and are circular in cross-section; these have been soldered onto the main bar and taper from the join before expanding towards a convex end.

Twisted gold bar torc shaped as an armlet. 1300-1150 BCE.

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)

WA_SC 18.1

Collection Area

Archaeology & Numismatics

Item Number

54.306/1

Find Information

Site Name: Talwrn Farm, Llanwrthwl

Collection Method: surface find
Date: 1954 / Feb

Notes: Hoard. The hoard was found on/around 21st February 1954 in a field of pasture known as Cae-gwyllt Bank, belonging to Talwrn Farm. Two farm workers were clearing the field of stones for ploughing and found a large stone on its side weighing approximately 100kg, below which was a heap of small stones. Under one of these stones were two torcs of different sizes, and below these was another small stone, which covered a further two torcs. The findspot was near the southern corner of the field on a south-east slope in the Wye river valley. The presence of a possible marker stone, and careful concealment of the torcs, may imply these torcs were buried with the intention of recovery, or for safe keeping. Four years later a Middle Bronze Age gold ring was found about a mile and a half away.

Acquisition

Treasure trove, 23/8/1954

Measurements

(): external diameter / mm:99.8 (of coil; max.)
(): diameter / mm
(): maximum width / mm:c. 91.0 (of coil)
(): width / mm
(): weight / g:214.8
(): maximum length / mm:1160.0 (uncoiled)
(): length / mm
(): length / mm:61.8 (terminal a)
(): length / mm:63.6 (terminal b)
(): diameter / mm:6.9 (of terminal a)
(): diameter / mm:6.8 (of terminal b)
(): maximum thickness / mm:5.6 (of wire)
(): thickness / mm

Material

gold

Location

St Fagans Wales Is gallery : Gold

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