Ipswich Torcs
- Gallery: Room 50
- Culture: Iron Age; La Tène
- Date: 150 BC - 50 BC (circa)
- Object type: torc
- Materials: gold alloy
- Museum number: 1969,0103.2
- Museum: The British Museum
- Collection record: British Museum website
- Image © The Trustees of the British Museum, shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 licence.
Listen to the free audio guide
About this object
These are the Ipswich Torcs—striking gold alloy neck ornaments from the Iron Age. Each torc is made of two fluted bars twisted together, with looped terminals at the ends. These loops are decorated in the La Tène style, featuring swirling scrolls and raised bosses, though the carvings look like they might not be fully finished.
The Ipswich Torcs were discovered in a hoard in 1968 near Belstead Brook, Suffolk—five of them together with a sixth one found nearby a year later. Created using the lost-wax casting method, the torcs show expert twisting and hammering techniques. Made around 150 to 50 BC, they were likely buried as a valuable collection, reflecting the artistry and cultural connections of Iron Age Europe.
See it in person
Ipswich Torcs is on display in Room 50 at the British Museum on Great Russell Street, Bloomsbury, London — free to enter. Choose British Museum on audioguide.london and take a photo of it to hear this free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
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