tubular torc

Snettisham in Norfolk is the site of the biggest collection of Iron Age gold and silver metalwork ever discovered in the British Isles and is unique in Western Europe with its hoards of complete and fragmentary neckrings, bracelets and coins unearthed there in 1948, 1950 and 1990. The ‘Snettisham Great Torc’ was found at Ken Hill in 1950 and is likely to have been made around 75BC, a period suggested by the presence of a dateable coin found caught in it. Made from just over 1kg of gold and silver alloy known as electrum this elaborately crafted torc would have required immense skill to make, with the finished item made from the twisting of eight separate ropes of metal. Each of the ropes is itself made of eight threads measuring 1.9mm wide. The ends of the torc would have been cast in moulds before being welded onto the ends of the electrum rope. The large ‘tubular torc’ was a part of the first hoard discovered at the site in November 1948, when it was first found it was thought to have been part of a brass bed frame and was initially discarded. The torc would have been made by forming a thin band of gold over a core of clay or wood. Torcs are not found that often in the archaeological record, although when they are, they often seem to have been buried in hoards. It seems likely that whoever was wearing them was part of an elite group of people, the torc conveying their power and wealth.