Alistair Hardaker | Image: Leicestershire’s Bronze Age Torc (Leicester County Council)
Leicestershire Museums need £10,000 to acquire the county’s only Bronze Age torc or risk losing the 3,200-year-old gold treasure to private collectors.
The Leicestershire Archaeological and Historical Society has launched an appeal to raise £10,000 towards the acquisition of a 3,200-year-old gold torc, the only one ever discovered in the county. Without sufficient funds, the object may be sold to a private collector in the UK or abroad.
The torc is a Middle Bronze Age object that was worn as high-status jewellery, possibly originally around the middle like a belt and later modified to be worn around the neck. It was discovered in the Harborough District in July 2024 by metal detectorist Robert Ward.
Following reporting with the Portable Antiquities Scheme, the Coroner declared the find Treasure under the 1996 Treasure Act. The object was independently valued at £150,000 as part of the process.
Leicestershire Museums have raised £126,837 from national and local funders, including £5,000 from the Leicestershire Archaeological and Historical Society’s Acquisitions Fund. Further funding applications are currently being considered which may reduce the £23,163 gap, with the initial aim to raise £10,000 of this remaining shortfall.
£5,596 of the £10,000 has been raised at the time of writing.
If the acquisition is successful, the object will be displayed at Harborough Museum in Market Harborough. The torc is constructed of three twisted strands of gold connected at the ends with decorated cylindrical terminals. One of the strands was broken and the broken ends were hammered. When discovered, a stone had been placed on top of the object.
Leicestershire Museums will work in partnership with the University of Leicester to enable a full scientific analysis of the object. This will provide information about how the torc was made, modified and prepared for burial.
Professor Elizabeth Tingle, Chair of the LAHS, said: “There is no other torc exactly like it in the whole country, so it is of national as well as local importance. We want to make sure that it can come home to Leicestershire and add to our understanding about the Bronze Age in the county.
“We are excited about the plans to research and display the torc at Harborough Museum. The torc would be put under the microscope by the University of Leicester’s ‘A New History of Bronze’ project team, which may be able to tell us more about how the torc was made and used.
“If we don’t manage to raise the money, this glittering Leicestershire find may be lost to the county. We are asking local people to chip in what they can afford to help us bring it back home.”
