Rights Holder: Salisbury and South Wiltshire Museum
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Unique ID: WILT-12B9D2
Object type certainty: Certain
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status: Published
A Middle Bronze Age copper alloy spiral-twisted torc dating in the Taunton period (1400-1250BC). It measures 211mm widthways, 193mm longways and is max.14.95mm thick. It weighs 537g, to the nearest 1g.
The main body of the torc is square in section with accentuated edges and twisted rather tightly (the torc comprises 29 twists). It is thickest at the centre (14.95x13.78mm) and narrows on either side to 10.33x10.24mm and 10.18x10.49mm. From here the plain, circular-sectioned and flat-ended terminals extend, 9.58mm and 9.36mm in diameter, narrowing to 8.10mm and 8.46mm. Both flat ends are slightly concave with a circular depression at the centre, c.3mm in diameter. The torc is fashioned in such a way so that one end lies inside the circle of the torc as created by the other end.
The patina is smooth, shiny and a light green-blue in colour, but with some pitting and areas of brighter blue corrosion, suggesting it could be quite active.
A similar torc, but smaller and with hooked terminals, can be found in the Durnford Hoard (Salisbury Museum collections).
Adam Gwilt, curator, National Museum of Wales, comments: 'Looking at Ben Roberts's article (PPS 73, 2007) on Ornaments in Britain 1400-1100BC, his listing and distribution maps show that earlier bronze pre-cursors to gold torcs do tend to cluster across parts of southern and eastern England. The Durnford hoard is included in his catalogue and Wiltshire is within his Zone B with tendencies towards frequent gold and bronze spiral twisted torcs'.
This is a find of note and has been designated: County / local importance
Subsequent action after recording: Returned to finder
Broad period: BRONZE AGE
Subperiod from: Middle
Period from: BRONZE AGE
Date from: Circa 1400 BC
Date to: Circa 1250 BC
Quantity: 1
Length: 193 mm
Width: 211 mm
Thickness: 14.95 mm
Weight: 537 g
Date(s) of discovery: Sunday 1st January 2012 - Thursday 22nd March 2012
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Other reference: Salisbury Museum Entry Form 3824
Grid reference source: Centred on parish
Unmasked grid reference accurate to a 1 metre square.
No references cited so far.