This torc is typical of the type of expensive jewellery
that only the richest people in late Iron Age society could
afford. It is made of electrum, an equal mix of gold and
silver, that has been pulled into wire and then twisted
to form cable. Two cables were twisted in one direction,
two in the other. The resulting four cables were then twisted
together, producing an attractive ‘herringbone’ pattern,
onto which a pair of looped ends were fixed.
Most torcs have been found in north-west Norfolk, but this
example was found in the south-west of the county. A farmer
nearly tripped over it while stacking straw bales! The
torc had probably been dragged out of its resting place
by a plough – which is why the cables are bent. |
