Bronze Age Gold from Wales

Middle Bronze Age gold bar-twisted torc

This is a roughly circular torc or neck-ring, coiled four times. The square-sectioned bar of gold was tightly twisted clockwise to produce a twisted bar form. Some wear is evident on the twists, indicating use. Only one of the hooked terminals survives, which is plain and circular in cross-section; this was soldered onto the main bar and tapers from the join before expanding towards a convex end. The other terminal appears to have been lost in antiquity. Towards the surviving terminal, there is a short section of plain, untwisted round-sectioned bar.

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

54.306/2

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

(): length / mm:c. 970.0*
(): maximum width / mm:75.0 (of coil)
(): width / mm
(): external diameter / mm:79.9 (of coil; max.)
(): diameter / mm
(): weight / g:60.57
(): maximum thickness / mm:2.0 (of wire)
(): thickness / mm
(): length / mm:40.0 (of terminal)
(): diameter / mm:3.6 (of terminal)

Material

gold

Location

St Fagans Wales Is gallery : Gold

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