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57-487: In the tale Culhwch and Olwen in the Mabinogion, she is described as a vision of beauty: wearing a flaming-red dress with a red-gold torc and many golden rings, she has "hair yellower than the broom ", red (ruddy) cheeks, white skin and pale hands. She is also depicted as having the ability to spring white flowers from every step she takes. The name "Olwen" reappears in the non-Arthurian folktale Einion and Olwen , about

114-532: A Romano-British hoard of coins was found in Little Brickhill (just south of Milton Keynes), in very close proximity to Watling Street. It consisted of 251 loose coins and an estimated 400 more which were corroded and had become somewhat amalgamated. The coins, dated 360–365, are now in the possession of the Bletchley Archaeological Society. Two years later, excavation work nearby uncovered

171-541: A sheep herder who travels to the Otherworld to marry Olwen; they later have a son named Taliesin . The tale was collected at the turn of the 20th century but is related to Culhwch and Olwen . English author and publisher of the Mabinogion, Lady Charlotte Guest noted that Olwen became the object of later poetry by Dafydd ap Gwilym and Sion Brwynog. The latter begins a poem with the verse Olwen gulael lan galon ("Olwen of slender eyebrow, pure of heart"). The meaning of

228-557: A store of value may have been an important part of their use. It has been noted that the Iberian gold examples seem to be made at fixed weights that are multiples of the Phoenician shekel . With bracelets, torcs are "the most important category of Celtic gold", though armlets and anklets were also worn; in contrast finger-rings were less common among the early Celts. The earliest Celtic torcs are mostly found buried with women, for example,

285-512: A Bronze Age hoard of weapons was found in a "deep cist filled with black earth" where nowadays stands the County Arms Hotel. The hoard comprised nine socketed axes , three broken axes, one palstave , two Spearheads and a leaf-shaped sword which had broken into four pieces. The collection now resides at Aylesbury Museum . 51°59′46″N 0°42′37″W  /  51.996°N 0.7102°W  / 51.996; -0.7102 In July 1962,

342-459: A Romano-British hoard of coins, a pair of silver snakeshead bracelets (both inscribed underneath), silver finger ring with carnelian intaglio. Found within a ceramic jar. 51°59′44″N 0°42′29″W  /  51.9956°N 0.7080°W  / 51.9956; -0.7080 Possibly the oldest known gold coin in Britain was found in 1849, here near the site of M AGIOVINIUM , a gold stater of

399-490: A brown ceramic fabric, standing 100 mm (3.9 in) high. The heaviest item (see specifications below, item 1) weighed 626.9 g (22.11 oz); the second torc and bracelet (items 2 and 4 respectively), following X-ray fluorescence analysis at the British Museum, contained the largest amount of gold at 85% each. The total weight is 2.020 kg (4.45 lb), and the British Museum described it as "one of

456-537: A classical style, and the piece may have been made by Greeks in the Celtic taste, or a "Graeco-Etruscan workshop", or by Celts with foreign training. Spiral ribbon torcs, usually with minimal terminals, continue a Bronze Age type and are found in the Stirling Hoard from Scotland, and elsewhere: "Although over 110 identifiable British [includes Ireland] ribbon torcs are known, the dating of these simple, flexible ornaments

513-506: A core, or woven gold wire. A rarer type twists a single bar with an X profile. Except in British looped terminals, the terminals of Iron Age torcs are usually formed separately. The "buffer" form of terminal was the most popular in finds from modern France and Germany, with some "fused buffer" types opening at the rear or sides. In both buffer types and those with projecting fringes of ornament, decoration in low relief often continues back round

570-463: A field in what is now Monkston Park in Milton Keynes, at the invitation of local archaeologists who were closing a nearby dig, when they discovered the hoard. They immediately informed the archaeologists (Brian Giggins and Paul and Charmian Woodfield ) – an action which was later cited as imperative in preserving the historical context of the find. Hayley Bullock of the British Museum

627-589: A relic, that no man dares swear falsely when it is laid before him." It is of course possible that this torc long pre-dated the reign of Prince Cynog and was a much earlier relic that had been recycled during the British Dark Ages to be used as a symbol of royal authority. It is now lost. There are mentions in medieval compilations of Irish mythology ; for example in the Lebor Gabála Érenn (11th century) Elatha wore 5 golden torcs when meeting Eriu . After

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684-494: A site not far from the 1962–1964 Little Brickhill finds, a mechanical digger uncovered a hoard of 296 denarii from the 1st to 2nd century. Hearth tools, pottery, and a fragment of whetstone were also found. Five of the coins are now at the British Museum and the remainder are at the Buckinghamshire County Museum. After excavation, more finds included a bronze brooch and terret ring. The wider implications of

741-516: A stone and timber building. The building had been destroyed by fire and 4th century pottery was found on a cobbled floor, along with various sherds from the 4th and 11th to 12th centuries, remnants of a 13th-century jug, glass and jet beads, and around 43 coins from Tetricus I (270–273) to Gratian (375–383). The excavation also revealed the burial place of at least 44 people. 51°59′32″N 0°42′00″W  /  51.9923°N 0.7001°W  / 51.9923; -0.7001 On 20 May 1967, at

798-480: A variety of techniques but complex decoration was usually begun by casting and then worked by further techniques. The Ipswich Hoard includes unfinished torcs that give clear evidence of the stages of work. Flat-ended terminals are called "buffers", and in types like the "fused-buffer" shape, where what resemble two terminals are actually a single piece, the element is called a "muff". There are several types of rigid gold and sometimes bronze necklaces and collars of

855-586: Is a hoard of Bronze Age gold found in September 2000 in a field at Monkston Park in Milton Keynes , England. The hoard consisted of two torcs , three bracelets , and a fragment of bronze rod contained in a pottery vessel. The inclusion of pottery in the find enabled it to be dated to around 1150–800 BC. Weighing in at 2.020 kg (4.45 lb), the hoard was described by the British Museum as "one of

912-492: Is a large rigid or stiff neck ring in metal, made either as a single piece or from strands twisted together. The great majority are open at the front, although some have hook and ring closures and a few have mortice and tenon locking catches to close them. Many seem designed for near-permanent wear and would have been difficult to remove. Torcs have been found in Scythian , Illyrian , Thracian , Celtic , and other cultures of

969-450: Is also found in northern Italy, where the hoops often end by being turned back upon themselves so that the terminals face out to the sides, perhaps enabling closure by hooking round. Both of these mostly used plain round bars or thin rods wound round a core. In the terminals of British torcs loops or rings are common, and the main hoop may be two or more round bars twisted together, or several strands each made up of twisted wire. Decoration of

1026-430: Is elusive", perhaps indicating "a long-lived preference for ribbon torcs, which continued for over 1,000 years". The terminals were often slightly flared plain round cylinders which were folded back to hook round each other to fasten the torc at the throat. Other Celtic torcs may use various ways of forming the hoop: plain or patterned round bars, two or more bars twisted together, thin round rods (or thick wire) wound round

1083-1054: Is how Polybius described the gaesatae , Celtic warriors from modern northern Italy or the Alps , fighting at the Battle of Telamon in 225 BC, although other Celts there were clothed. One of the earliest known depictions of a torc can be found on the Warrior of Hirschlanden (6th century BC), and a high proportion of the few Celtic statues of human figures, mostly male, show them wearing torcs. Other possible functions that have been proposed for torcs include use as rattles in rituals or otherwise, as some have stones or metal pieces inside them, and representations of figures thought to be deities carrying torcs in their hand may depict this. Some are too heavy to wear for long, and may have been made to place on cult statues. Very few of these remain but they may well have been in wood and not survived. Torcs were clearly valuable, and often found broken in pieces, so being

1140-583: Is mentioned by other authors. It is not clear whether the Gallo-Roman "Warrior of Vacheres", a sculpture of a soldier in Roman military dress, wears a torc as part of his Roman uniform or as a reflection of his Celtic background. Quintilian says that the Emperor Augustus was presented by Gauls with a gold torc weighing 100 Roman pounds (nearly 33 kilograms or 73 pounds), far too heavy to wear. A torc from

1197-519: The European Iron Age from around the 8th century BC to the 3rd century AD. For Iron Age Celts, the gold torc seems to have been a key object. It identified the wearer, apparently usually female until the 3rd century BC, thereafter male, as a person of high rank, and many of the finest works of ancient Celtic art are torcs. Celtic torcs disappeared in the Migration Period , but during

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1254-576: The Roman conquest of Britain , from about 75 AD for a century or more, a different type called the "beaded torc" appears in Roman Britain , mainly in the northern "frontier" region, in two types, A with separate "beads" and B made in one piece. These are in copper alloy rather than precious metal, and evidently more widely spread in society than the elite Iron Age Celtic examples. Most Achaemenid torcs are thin single round bars with matching animal heads as

1311-689: The Tolstaya burial and the Karagodeuashk kurgan ( Kuban area), both dating to the 4th century BC. A torc is part of the Pereshchepina hoard dating to the 7th century AD. Thin torcs, often with animal head terminals, are found in the art of the Persian Achaemenid Empire , with some other elements derived from Scythian art. Depictions of the gods and goddesses of Celtic mythology sometimes show them wearing or carrying torcs, as in images of

1368-474: The Viking Age torc-style metal necklaces, mainly in silver, came back into fashion. Similar neck-rings are also part of the jewellery styles of various other cultures and periods. The word comes from Latin torquis (or torques ), from torqueo , "to twist", because of the twisted shape many of the rings have. Typically, neck-rings that open at the front when worn are called "torcs" and those that open at

1425-494: The 1st century BC Winchester Hoard , is broadly in Celtic style but uses the Roman technique of laced gold wire, suggesting it may have been a "diplomatic gift" from a Roman to a British tribal king. A very late example of a torc used as ceremonial item in early Medieval Wales can be found in the writings of Gerald of Wales . The author wrote that there still existed a certain royal torc that had once been worn by Prince Cynog ap Brychan of Brycheiniog (fl. 492 AD) and

1482-413: The 2nd century BC (illustrated). Many finds of torcs, especially in groups and in association with other valuables but not associated with a burial, are clearly deliberate deposits whose function is unclear. They may have been ritual deposits or hidden for safekeeping in times of warfare. Some may represent the work-in-progress of a workshop. After the early period, torcs are especially prominent in

1539-842: The Bronze Age but up to 20% in the Iron Age—can help decide the question. There are several flared gold torcs with a C-shaped section in the huge Mooghaun North Hoard of Late Bronze Age gold from 800 to 700 BC found in County Clare in Ireland. To the East, torcs appear in Scythian art from the Early Iron Age , and include "classicizing" decoration drawing on styles from the east. Torcs are also found in Thraco-Cimmerian art. Torcs are found in

1596-580: The Celtic cultures reaching to a coast of the Atlantic , from modern Spain to Ireland, and on both sides of the English Channel . Some very elaborately worked torcs with relief decoration in a late form of La Tène style have been found in Britain and Ireland, dating from roughly the 3rd to 1st centuries BC. There may be a connection with an older tradition in the British Isles of elaborate gold neckwear in

1653-549: The area, giving rise to an associated Roman town at the Romano-British settlement M AGIOVINIUM  – now Fenny Stratford . The history of Milton Keynes shows that settlement can be traced back to 2000 BCE; therefore, it is perhaps unsurprising that many other hoards have been found within a 10–12 miles (16–19 km) radius of its modern centre. 52°05′35″N 0°50′24″E  /  52.093°N 0.840°E  / 52.093; 0.840 In about 1827,

1710-467: The back "collars". Smaller bracelets and armlets worn around the wrist or on the upper arm sometimes share very similar forms. Torcs were made from single or multiple intertwined metal rods, or "ropes" of twisted wire. Most of those that have been found are made from gold or bronze, less often silver, iron or other metals (gold, bronze and silver survive better than other metals when buried for long periods). Elaborate examples, sometimes hollow, used

1767-540: The biggest concentrations of Bronze Age gold known from Britain and seems to flaunt wealth." The finders' reporting the hoard in good time ensured "certain association between a gold hoard and pottery for the British Middle to Late Bronze Age (about 1500–800 BC)" could be established. However, the inclusion of pottery in the find confirms and maybe refines the hoard dating. Furthermore, the British Museum stated, "The find provides an invaluable link between gold types and

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1824-455: The biggest concentrations of Bronze Age gold known from Great Britain" and "important for providing a social and economic picture for the period". The hoard was valued at £290,000 and is now in the British Museum. Several other antiquities , including Romano-British hoards, have been found within a 10–12 miles (16–19 km) radius of the centre of Milton Keynes. On 7 July 2000, Michael Rutland and Gordon Heritage were metal detecting in

1881-553: The broader social and economic picture for Bronze Age Britain ." A coroner's inquest declared the finds treasure and valued them at £290,000. Heritage and Rutland were entitled to a share of this with the landowners, English Partnerships . However, because the owners of the land disputed the finders' right to search the land the Treasure Valuation Committee increased the finders' share to 60%, after finding this claim to be unwarranted. The British Museum acquired

1938-768: The discoverers of the Monkston Bronze Age gold hoard. In October 2007, the three men found a further two staters in the same area, also deemed to be part of the original 1849 hoard. The Whaddon Chase hoard remains the largest of its kind, with only the discovery of the Wickham Market Hoard in 2008 – where 840 gold staters were uncovered in Suffolk  – coming close thereafter. 52°09′36″N 0°45′18″W  /  52.160°N 0.755°W  / 52.160; -0.755 On New Year's Eve, 1858 near Weston Underwood , an earthenware vessel

1995-422: The excavation were that it was discovered that occupation of the area had passed through five phases from the 1st to 4th century of the Romano-British empire. 627 coins were found in 1987 which were ascertained to be from the same hoard. 52°01′11″N 0°42′42″W  /  52.0198°N 0.7117°W  / 52.0198; -0.7117 In 1987, metal detectorists found 97 bronze coins spanning 307–317 at

2052-606: The form of gold lunulas , which seem centred on Ireland in the Bronze Age , and later flat or curved wide collars; gold twisted ribbon torcs are found from both periods, but also imported styles such as the fused-buffer. The most elaborate late Insular torcs are thick and often hollow, some with terminals forming a ring or loop. The most famous English example is the 1st-century BC multi-stranded electrum Snettisham Torc found in northwestern Norfolk in England (illustrated), while

2109-461: The god Cernunnos wearing one torc around his neck, with torcs hanging from his antlers or held in his hand, as on the Gundestrup cauldron . This may represent the deity as the source of power and riches, as the torc was a sign of nobility and high social status. The famous Roman copy of the original Greek sculpture The Dying Gaul depicts a wounded Gaulish warrior naked except for a torc, which

2166-662: The gold torc from the La Tène period chariot burial of a princess, found in the Waldalgesheim chariot burial in Germany, and others found in female graves at Vix in France (illustrated) and Reinheim . Another La Tène example was found as part of a hoard or ritual deposit buried near Erstfeld in Switzerland. It is thought by some authors that the torc was mostly an ornament for women until

2223-526: The hoard, although replicas were made and displayed at the independently run Milton Keynes Museum to commemorate the origin of the find spot. Before the Roman conquest of Britain of 43 the Catuvellauni tribe controlled this area from their hillfort at Danesborough, near Woburn Sands . Under Roman occupation, the area thrived due mainly to the major Roman road , Iter III – later known as Watling Street  – which runs through

2280-476: The hoop as far as the midpoint of the side view. In Iberian torcs thin gold bars are often wound round a core of base metal, with the rear section a single round section with a decorated surface. The c. 150 torcs found in the lands of the Iberian Celts of Galicia favoured terminals ending in balls coming to a point or small buffer ("pears"), or a shape with a double moulding called scotiae . The pointed ball

2337-456: The lack of precision in quantifying the hoard was because "[t]he discovery attracted many persons to the spot, some of whom contrived to get possession of nearly 100 specimens... About 320 reached the hands of [landowner] Mr Lowndes". It was also poorly recorded in the first instance. In December 2006, in Little Horwood , three metal detectorists found 73 staters, dated from 60 to 50 BC, of

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2394-457: The late 3rd century BC, when it became an attribute of warriors. However, there is evidence for male wear in the early period; in a rich double burial of the Hallstatt period at Hochmichele , the man wears an iron torc and the female a necklace with beads. A heavy torc in silver over an iron core with bull's head terminals, weighing over 6 kilos, from Trichtingen, Germany, probably dates to

2451-644: The later European Bronze Age , from around 1200 BC, many of which are classed as "torcs". They are mostly twisted in various conformations, including the "twisted ribbon" type, where a thin strip of gold is twisted into a spiral. Other examples twist a bar with a square or X section, or just use round wire, with both types in the three 12th– or 11th-century BC specimens found at Tiers Cross, Pembrokeshire, Wales. The Milton Keynes Hoard contained two large examples of thicker rounded forms, as also used for bracelets. The terminals are not emphasized as in typical Iron Age torcs, though many can be closed by hooking

2508-476: The mid-2nd century BC. The British Museum described it as "a superb example of the Iron Age die-engraver's art". Although known as the "Bletchley" hoards, two coin hoards were also found at or near the site of M AGIOVINIUM , consisting of silver denarii , in 1967 and 1987. 52°03′22″N 0°51′52″W  /  52.056°N 0.8645°W  / 52.056; -0.8645 In 1789, at Windmill Field in

2565-469: The name Olwen is "white footprint" or "white track". According to legend, she was so gentle and fragile that white trefoils would grow in her footprints. Some authorities consider her to have been originally a solar goddess , based on the etymology of her name and light-related attributes. Professor John T. Koch states that "recent Welsh generally employs olwyn rather than rhod for 'wheel'." Torc A torc , also spelled torq or torque ,

2622-508: The nickname Torquatus (the one who wears a torc), and it was adopted by his family. After this, Romans adopted the torc as a decoration for distinguished soldiers and elite units during Republican times. A few Roman torcs have been discovered. Pliny the Elder records that after a battle in 386 BC (long before his lifetime) the Romans recovered 183 torcs from the Celtic dead, and similar booty

2679-480: The parish of Old Stratford , Northamptonshire (just across the river Great Ouse from Stony Stratford in Milton Keynes ), an urn was uncovered that contained between 50 and 60 fragments of silver and gilt bronze plaques. "In addition there are two objects sometimes described as ensigns or head-dresses". The fragments include images of the Roman deities Mars , Apollo , and Victoria and inscriptions ascribed to Jupiter and Vulcan , leading to theories that this

2736-412: The same oppidum . Later Celtic torcs nearly all return to having a break at the throat and strong emphasis on the two terminals. The Vix torc has two very finely made winged horses standing on fancy platforms projecting sideways just before the terminals, which are flattened balls under lions' feet. Like other elite Celtic pieces in the "orientalizing" style, the decoration shows Greek influence but not

2793-447: The simple terminals together. Many of these "torcs" are too small to be worn round the neck of an adult, and were either worn as bracelets or armlets, or by children or statues. Archaeologists find dating many torcs difficult, with some believing torcs were retained for periods of centuries as heirlooms, and others believing there were two periods of production. Differing ratios of silver in the gold of other objects—typically up to 15% in

2850-603: The single hollow torc in the Broighter Gold hoard, with relief decoration all round the hoop, is the finest example of this type from Ireland, also 1st century BC. The Stirling Hoard , a rare find in Scotland of four gold torcs, two of them twisted ribbons, dating from the 3rd to 1st century BC, was discovered in September 2009. The Roman Titus Manlius in 361 BC challenged a Gaul to single combat, killed him, and then took his torc. Because he always wore it, he received

2907-494: The terminals in the finest examples is complex but all abstract. In these two types the hoop itself normally has no extra decoration, though the large torc in the Irish Broighter Gold hoard is decorated all round the hoop, the only Irish example decorated in this way. Milton Keynes Hoard 52°01′59″N 0°42′40″W  /  52.033°N 0.711°W  / 52.033; -0.711 The Milton Keynes Hoard

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2964-418: The terminals, facing each other at the front. Some Early Celtic forms depart from the normal style of torc by lacking a break at the throat, and instead are heavily decorated at the continuous front, with animal elements and short rows of " balusters ", rounded projections coming to a blunt point; these are seen both on the sculpted torc worn by the stone " Glauberg Warrior" and a gold torc (illustrated) found in

3021-687: The type that had come to be known as the Whaddon Chase type. Ian Leins, from the British Museum Department of Coins and Medals, stated in the 2005–06 Treasure Annual Report that the proximity to the Whaddon Chase find spot and the type found made it "likely" that this find "represent[s] part of the original hoard that remained undiscovered in 1849." The 2006 staters were valued at a total of £25,000 and are now in Buckinghamshire County Museum. The 2006 staters were discovered by Andrew and Edward Clarkson, and Gordon Heritage – coincidentally one of

3078-514: Was a votive hoard at a Roman temple. The hoard is now kept at the British Museum . Whaddon : 52°00′00″N 0°49′41″W  /  52.000°N 0.828°W  / 52.000; -0.828 Little Horwood : 51°58′05″N 0°51′00″W  /  51.968°N 0.850°W  / 51.968; -0.850 In 1849, while ploughing land near Whaddon , farm workers discovered a hoard of Iron Age gold staters. The amount found, depending on reports, varies between 450 to 800 and 2,000, but

3135-477: Was also praised for acting quickly to preserve the site and expedite excavation. The metal detectorists who found the hoard were rewarded with 60% of the value after the authorities decided that the landowners' claim that the finders had searched without permission was unfounded. The hoard in its entirety comprises two large gold torcs, three smaller gold bracelets, a fragment of bronze rod or wire, and an undecorated fineware post- Deverel-Rimbury type bowl with

3192-585: Was found in Whites Close. It contained 166 denarii from the 1st and 2nd century AD, 4 legionary coins, 1 brass coin, an Augustus from 42 BC and 4 of Mark Antony from 30 BC. Also found was a complete 2nd century Samian bowl and other pieces of pottery, including many broken sherds , and even human and horse bones. The Samian bowl now resides at Buckinghamshire County Museum . 52°03′53″N 0°47′52″W  /  52.0646°N 0.7978°W  / 52.0646; -0.7978 In 1879, at New Bradwell ,

3249-400: Was known as Saint Kynauc's Collar. Gerald encountered and described this relic first-hand while travelling through Wales in 1188. Of it he says, "it is most like to gold in weight, nature, and colour; it is in four pieces wrought round, joined together artificially, and clefted as it were in the middle, with a dog's head, the teeth standing outward; it is esteemed by the inhabitants so powerful

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