Image: DUR-B8DF64 Iron Age Torc (FindID 587247)

Description: Part of a copper alloy Roman torc dating to the period c. AD 75 to 200. The band/collar of the torc is missing, with only the beaded section remaining, cast as a separate piece and subsequently added to the collar. The beaded section consists of 10 distinct discs, arranged symmetrically with gradually diminishing diameter from the fifth and sixth beads to the first/tenth beads. Between each disc, the torc narrows. There is a narrow collar attached to each side of each bead. At each end of the beaded section is a collar (not a true bead) followed by a terminal of rectangular planview and triangular profile. These terminals retain moulded ridges across their upper face that appears to be decoration, and the inside of the terminals may be hollow, though the internal depth is uncertain due to it being filled with a dirt and copper-alloy corrosion that has formed a cemented infill. This is a type B beaded torc which suggests that there was a copper hoop which this section attached to in order to be worn around the neck. A more complete example is the one from Lamberton Moor which is in the National Museum of Scotland. Torcs traditionally date to the Iron Age however the beaded types from excavation are associated with contexts from the late 1st century through to the end of the 2nd century. While torcs are traditionally British in character, the beaded types do not display Celtic design and so are suggested to be a Roman interpretation. The distribution of Type B supports this as all examples studied by Hunter ( 2010:92) were all found south of the Forth. There have been several recorded on the PAS database and NCL-400142 is very similar with only slight differences in decoration. SWYOR-1740A7 is even more similar however it is much more abraded.
Title: DUR-B8DF64 Iron Age Torc
Credit: https://finds.org.uk/database/ajax/download/id/447003 Catalog: https://finds.org.uk/database/images/image/id/447003/recordtype/artefacts archive copy at the Wayback Machine Artefact: https://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/record/id/587247
Author: Durham County Council, Lauren Proctor, 2013-11-20 09:06:24
Permission: Attribution-ShareAlike License
Usage Terms: Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0
License: CC BY-SA 2.0
License Link: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0
Attribution Required?: Yes