What the unique Celtic artifact, accidentally found in the mud, told scientists

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

Norfolk, a county in the east of England, seemingly long ago gave up its share of buried treasures. In 1948, a fabulous treasure was found there, called the Snettisham treasure. A huge number of gold objects, more than two thousand years old, were found in the field. Until 1973, some Celtic gold jewelry was found here and there. Quite by accident, a British pensioner discovered in the mud a treasure that the British Museum called "the most valuable discovery in recent times."

During the construction of a house in Norfolk County, in the village of Snettisham, an incredible treasure was found. The valuables were piled into a large ceramic jug. Inside, in addition to gold, silver, copper and bronze coins, there were jewelry and jeweler's tools. Historians have concluded that the find is a treasure of a master of jewelry.

In the winter of 2005, fifty-nine-year-old Maurice Richardson used his metal detector to search for artifacts from an old plane from World War II. This plane crashed nearby. As a result, instead of the remains of a twentieth century flying machine, Richardson found a unique Celtic Iron Age torque. Experts estimate the cost of the find at more than five hundred thousand US dollars.

The man was looking for metal objects and at some point he heard a characteristic signal from a metal detector. The signal was very weak, it was raining and Maurice initially wanted to ignore it. Then I decided to see what was there.

Digging a hole in the viscous mud, Richardson stumbled upon a golden torque. When asked what he thought at that moment, the man replied: “It was a wonderful feeling. What happened once again proves that everything is possible. It's not about money at all, but about the fact that a unique historical artifact was preserved for the nation. Two thousand years in the earth! This is unique."

What are the chances of going through the field and finding the treasure? As it turned out, the odds are astronomical. According to British law, Maurice turned the find over to local authorities for authentication. The proceeds from the sale were subsequently split by Richardson and the landowner, Trinity College Cambridge. Now this incredibly valuable find is in the British Museum.

A torquess is a metal neck or arm decoration that was often twisted with a large number of metal threads to give it greater strength. Most of these items had decorative ends called terminals. Older decorations, dating from around 1400 BC, were simpler.

In her book, The Necklace as a Divine Symbol and Sign of Dignity in the Old Norse Concept, Marianne Görmann argues that only the most important Celts wore neck rings. Celtic gods and goddesses in art are depicted with torques, as well as Greek and Roman sculptures depicting Celtic warriors with these neck decorations.

In Scandinavia, torques were considered divine and used in religious rituals. The Celtic queen and warlord Boudicca was known for wearing a massive, heavy gold torque, while the Roman historian Livy referred to the torque as a symbol of the Celtic warrior.

A Celtic warrior, especially if he was a noble, lavishly adorned himself with gold. He wore not only torques, but bracelets adorned his wrists and forearms. On the chest of the war horse, golden phales sparkled and shimmered with all the colors of the rainbow in the sun. The warrior's shield was inlaid with gold, and the scabbard and hilt of daggers and swords were also richly decorated with this metal. The clothes were embroidered with golden threads, and the warriors also decorated their hair with them. The Romans, next to such warriors, looked like miserable beggars. In addition, historical documents indicate that this spectacle of sparkling golden splendor plunged the Romans into fear and confusion.

There is a story about how the leader of the Celts, Vercingetorig, lost the war to Rome and he needed to show his obedience. The king put on his magnificent armor, put on the horse an incomparable beauty harness, all this shone with gold, was decorated with incredibly ornate ornaments. Vercingetorig's clothes were embroidered with luxurious gold embroidery. He very slowly, with true royal dignity, traveled in all this splendor around the entire Roman camp three times. Only after that did he come to Caesar, calmly laying his sword at his feet.

The Germanic tribes saw in the rings around their necks a sign of bravery, leadership and prestige, as well as a sacrificial offering. During the Viking Age, torques were often placed in peat bogs as offerings to the gods. Instead of gold, Vikings often preferred silver and sometimes carved pieces of it from their necklaces as currency.

In 2016, a hoard of twenty-six silver Roman coins from AD 37-154 was discovered near Norwich. Adrian Marsden, an expert on the Norwich Castle Museum, claims that two more hoards were discovered in 2012 and 2013, and believes many coins are still buried. Marsden believes the coins were hidden by a Roman soldier or citizen during the invasion of Britain in AD 43–84.

In 1840, more than eight thousand items, including silver bars and coins, English and Carolingian jewelry, and chopped silver, were discovered in the Curdale Hoard in Lancashire on the banks of the Ribble River. The treasure was believed to have been buried between 903 and 910 AD along a road known to be used by the Vikings at the time.

If you are interested in history, read our article on how The recently discovered treasure of Queen Boudicca has shed light on the most romantic page in Celtic history.