South–West Norfolk Torc

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.

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