The Great Torc from Snettisham or Snettisham Great Torc is a large
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...
torc
A torc, also spelled torq or torque, is a large rigid or stiff neck ring in metal, made either as a single piece or from strands twisted together. The great majority are open at the front, although some had hook and ring closures and a few had ...
or neck ring in
electrum
Electrum is a naturally occurring alloy of gold and silver, with trace amounts of copper and other metals. Its color ranges from pale to bright yellow, depending on the proportions of gold and silver. It has been produced artificially, and ...
, from the 1st century BC. It is one of the finest pieces of early
Celtic art
Celtic art is associated with the peoples known as Celts; those who spoke the Celtic languages in Europe from pre-history through to the modern period, as well as the art of ancient peoples whose language is uncertain, but have cultural and styli ...
in a distinctly
British Celtic
Insular Celtic languages are the group of Celtic languages of Brittany, Great Britain, Ireland, and the Isle of Man. All surviving Celtic languages are in the Insular group, including Breton, which is spoken on continental Europe in Brittany, ...
style. It is the most spectacular object in the
Snettisham Hoard
The Snettisham Hoard or ''Snettisham Treasure'' is a series of discoveries of Iron Age precious metal, found in the Snettisham area of the English county of Norfolk between 1948 and 1973.
Iron age hoard
The hoard consists of metal, jet and ...
of torcs and other metalwork found in 1950 near the village of
Snettisham
Snettisham is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. It is located near the west coast of Norfolk, some south of the seaside resort of Hunstanton, north of the town of King's Lynn and northwest of the city of Norwic ...
in
Norfolk
Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...
,
East Anglia
East Anglia is an area in the East of England, often defined as including the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles, a people whose name originated in Anglia, in ...
. The perfectly intact torc is outstanding for its high level of craftsmanship and superb artistry. Soon after its discovery it was acquired by the
British Museum
The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...
.
Discovery
The
torc
A torc, also spelled torq or torque, is a large rigid or stiff neck ring in metal, made either as a single piece or from strands twisted together. The great majority are open at the front, although some had hook and ring closures and a few had ...
was accidentally found in 1950 by a farmer ploughing a field at Ken Hill
near the village of Snettisham. It had been buried with a bracelet and coin, which helped to date the torc to around 75 BC. Many other Iron Age hoards have since been found in the vicinity, but the Great Torc is considered by archaeologists to be the most important find from Snettisham. Declared part of a
treasure trove soon after its discovery, the torc was purchased by the British Museum with the support of the
National Art Collections Fund
Art Fund (formerly the National Art Collections Fund) is an independent membership-based British charity, which raises funds to aid the acquisition of artworks for the nation. It gives grants and acts as a channel for many gifts and bequests, as ...
.
Description
The Great Torc weighs slightly more than and is mostly made of gold alloyed with a small fraction of silver.
The torc was made in two ways: 64
complex threads of metal were grouped into ropes and twisted around each other to create the
crescent shaped necklace; the ends of the torc were cast in moulds with
La Tène designs and
welded onto the metal ropes to create the whole composition. Given the large amount of precious metals found at the site, in addition to the sophisticated design of luxurious jewellery such as this, it has been conjectured that the area around Snettisham may have been connected with royalty from the
Iceni tribe, that was based in this part of England at the time.
See also
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Lochar Moss Torc
The Lochar Moss Torc is an Iron Age brass torc or neck-ring found in Lochar Moss, near Dumfries in Scotland. It was found by chance in the early nineteenth century and was later donated to the British Museum.
Discovery
Lochar Moss, located on th ...
*
Sedgeford Torc
The Sedgeford Torc is a broken Iron Age gold torc found near the village of Sedgeford in Norfolk. The main part of the torc was found during harrowing of a field in 1965, and the missing terminal was found by Dr. Steve Hammond during fieldwor ...
*
Newark Torc
The Newark Torc is a complete Iron Age gold alloy torc found by a metal detectorist on the outskirts of Newark-on-Trent, Nottinghamshire, England, in February 2005.
The torc is made from electrum, an alloy of gold, silver and copper, weighs ...
References
Bibliography
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*{{cite journal, first= I., last= Stead, title= The Snettisham Treasure: excavations in 1990, work= Antiquity-3, volume= 65 , year= 1991
Torcs
Ancient Celtic metalwork
Prehistoric objects in the British Museum
Gold objects
Individual items of jewellery