1,000 Year-Old Gold Torcs Discoverd

Recently, dozens of metal-detecting enthusiasts convened near Carlisle, on England’s northern border with Scotland, for a rally. It was remarkably successful.

Over the course of four days, the detectorists traversed over 400 acres of land and dug up hundreds of finds, from a Viking brooch to an 1817 coin bearing the likeness of King George III. But the clear standouts from the gathering were three Bronze Age bracelets, or torcs, crafted out of gold.

When Andy Crammond found the first torc, he initially thought that it was a bull’s nose ring. But he quickly realised it was “too shiny to be a bull ring. I picked it up and felt the weight, and everything was a blur after that.” Crammond’s friend Alan Daniels, came over to see what he’d found, and together, the pair soon discovered another two bracelets. Daniels said of the gold torcs: "This is like the holy grail of metal detecting finds."

Jim Morris, an archaeologist at the University of Lancashire, deems the torcs “spectacular,” noting that comparable surviving specimens are usually just fragments. “To find a complete one is rare, and three complete ones is even rarer,” he told BBC News.

The torcs would have been worn on the arm and described having the chance to hold them as "incredible," said event organiser Gary Robertson. "We were expecting to find some Roman or medieval stuff, but never three Bronze Age torcs."

The torcs date to around 1100 B.C.E., toward the end of Britain’s Middle Bronze Age. Collectively, the bracelets weigh 18.3 ounces and are believed to be worth more than £300,000 ($400,000). Experts at the British Museum are currently assessing the objects to determine whether they meet the legal definition of “treasure.” If the torcs qualify, they will be offered to a museum for acquisition, with the proceeds from the sale divided among three very happy people: Crammond, Daniels and landowner Richard Forbes.