'Oldest' Iron Age gold work in Britain found in Staffordshire - BBC News

Two friends made news lately after they unearthed jewelry that could be the oldest Iron Age gold discovered in Britain. Friends, Mark Hambleton and Joe Kania, were using a metal detector on Staffordshire Moorlands farmland when they made the exciting discovery. The friends found three necklaces and a bracelet that are believed to be about 2,500 years old. The find was declared treasure at an inquest that was led by coroner Ian Smith. The amazing discovery is described as Leekfrith Iron Age Torcs, a unique find of international importance. The jewelry dates back to around 400-250 BC and is probably the earliest Iron Age gold work ever discovered in Britain. The gold torcs were probably worn by wealthy and powerful women, possibly people from the Continent who had married into the local community at the time. You will want to take a look at the gallery of photos of these beautiful pieces of jewelry.

In an age where people are obsessed with new celebrity news, it's nice to get hear about a discovery such as this and the history that goes with it. The four gold torcs were found separately, about three feet apart, and were buried near the surface in Leekfrith last December. The location of the discover is almost 50 miles away from where the $3.6 million Anglo-Saxon Staffordshire Hoard was discovered by a metal detector enthusiast back in 2009. The inquest heard that the torcs' gold content was at least 80 percent with each piece of jewelry weighing between 8 ounces and one ounce. A formal valuation of the jewelry will now take place at the British Museum. To be declared a treasure, the item must be more than 300 years old or have a precious metal content that is greater than 10 percent. This discovery is one of the most exciting finds in recent history.

A torc, which can also be spelled as torq or torque, is a large rigid or stiff neck ring that is made of metal. The piece of jewelry is made either as a single piece or from several strands of metal that are twisted together. The great majority of torcs are open at the front, although some torc jewelry has hook and ring closures. While other pieces of torq jewelry had a mortice and tenon locking catch to close them. Many torcs were designed for near-permanent wear and would have been very difficult to remove. Torcs are found in the Illyrian, Scythian, Thracian, Celtic, and other cultures of the European Iron Age from around the 8th century BC up until the 3rd century AD. For the Iron Age the Celt's gold torc seemed to have been a key object and identified the person who wore them as a person of high rank, and many of the finest pieces of ancient Celtic art are torcs. The Celtic torcs disappeared in the Migration Period, but during the Viking Age the torc-style metal necklaces, which were mainly made in silver, came back into fashion. Torc styles of neck-rings are found as part of the jewelry styles of several other cultures and periods. It is interesting to take a look at the different styles of torcs and to know the history of these ancient pieces of jewelry. The recent discovery is a window to the past and the ancient art of jewelry making.

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