Dr Tess Machling, an archaeologist and researcher based in St Albans, has been investigating Iron Age gold torcs since 2015. Working with a team of goldsmiths, silversmiths, replica makers and jewellers - and looking at the torcs from a craft perspective - it has been discovered that many torcs were not cast as was previously assumed, but are instead made of gold sheet.
This talk examines these findings and whether, in light of several northern British torc finds, the previously assumed place of manufacture in East Anglia can be supported. Focussing on the torcs found at Netherurd and Blair Drummond, Tess will aim to show that it is equally possible that torcs were made somewhere else in the UK, with a number of influences beyond East Anglia affecting their design!