Leekfrith Torques
The Leekfrith torques are part of a hoard consisting of three golden torques and a smaller bracelet found in 2016 by hobby probe- users with metal detectors in a field in the parish of Leekfrith in Staffordshire , England .
Finding circumstances
The probes examined a field that they had already searched once on another occasion with no result, and on this occasion initially found three of the individual parts. They reported their find to the responsible monument protection officer at the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery . A few weeks later, the men found fourth torque on the same field. The finds were at a depth of about 15 to 20 cm, grass roots grew through parts of the jewelry. The finds were originally buried close together and shifted in their position by plowing, so that the parts were ultimately one meter apart. In a subsequent archaeological investigation , no further archaeological finds could be discovered in the find area and no traces of settlement were found in the immediate vicinity of the site.
Findings
The find is one of the oldest gold finds with Celtic ornaments from the La Tène period in Iron Age Great Britain and is classified as internationally significant. The individual parts of the find weigh between 31 g and 230 g and have a gold content of at least 80%, a little more than 18 carats . On February 28, 2017, the Fund official investigation has been subjected and based on those results the British treasure trove of 1996 ( Treasure Act 1996 ) subject. Coroner Ian Smith qualified the find as "... not quite in the same league as the Staffordshire Treasure , but significant nonetheless". Stephen Dean, chief archaeologist for Staffordshire County Council, ruled that the find “may change everything that is known about northern Britain before the arrival of the Romans.” The gold jewelry may have come from what is now Germany or France and was likely between Made 400 and 250 BC. He could have come to England as a commercial object or with wealthy immigrants.
After the composition of the find has been officially examined, antiques experts from the Treasure Valuation Committee determine the value of the torques. On this basis, it is offered for sale to a museum. If it can't find a buyer, the finder can keep it. The commission can also set a reward, which is shared between the finders and the property owner according to rules that are also to be determined.
Also on February 28, 2017, Leekfrith's torques were presented to the public for the first time at an event at the Potteries Museum & Art Gallery in Hanley (Stoke-on-Trent) , where they were shown in a special exhibition from March 1 to 22, 2017.
Coordinates: 53 ° 9 ′ 0 ″ N , 2 ° 1 ′ 1.2 ″ W.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Maev Kennedy, Detectorists strike gold 20 years after leaving field empty-handed , in: The Guardian , February 28, 2017, accessed February 28, 2017
- ↑ a b c d 'Oldest' Iron Age gold work in Britain found in Staffordshire , on: BBC News , February 28, 2017, accessed March 1, 2017
- ↑ This gold jewelry belongs to the Krone in FAZ of March 2, 2013, page 13
- ↑ The Leekfrith Iron Age Torcs ( Memento of the original from March 4, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on Stoke-on-Trent Museums, accessed March 4, 2017
