by Tess Machling
[A download/print PDF version can be found at the end of the paper] This is a first for The Big Book of Torcs. Today, I open up BBoT to a guest blog, written by a friend and archaeological colleague. For various reasons, the writer of this blog prefers to remain anonymous, but I can vouch …
Continue reading "“Who Pays for the Hobby?”: Metal Detecting in England and Wales"
by Tess Machling [A download/print PDF version can be found at the end of the paper] Before I go any further, I want to state that the theft and destruction of heritage across the world is not uncommon and I fully acknowledge the horrific losses currently being experienced in places like Palestine and Sudan. This …
by Tess Machling [A download/print PDF version can be found at the end of the paper] Although I am in no way a goldsmith, I do have the kind of family lineage that suggests my dalliances with Iron Age gold might not just be a lucky co-incidence. Having been to the Goldsmiths' Fair in Goldsmiths …
by Tess Machling [A download/print PDF version can be found at the end of the paper] On 3rd July 2025 an important exhibition opened at L'ÉCOLE, School of Jewellery Arts in Paris. The poster from the exhibition. Working with Van Cleef & Arpels, the Centre Archéologique de Montans, the Musée d’Archéologie Nationale at Saint-Germain-en-Laye and …
Continue reading "The Montans torc: working with goldsmiths."
('Iron Age Dialogues' conference, Cardiff, 30th April to 2nd May 2025.) by Tess Machling [A download/print PDF version can be found at the end of the paper] This paper can be cited as: DOI 10.5281/zenodo.15389794 Introduction Although there is an intention to publish the proceedings of the Cardiff conference, for me, publication in print will …
by Tess Machling [A download/print PDF version can be found at the end of the paper] This paper can be cited as DOI 10.5281/zenodo.15181315 (For details of all the finds referred to, please see the recently published Snettisham Hoards volumes, which can be downloaded for free from HERE.) Abstract Hoard F, from the Snettisham 'gold …
Continue reading "Fused, melted and dripped on: Snettisham Hoard F."
by Tess Machling [A download/print PDF version can be found at the end of the paper]. This paper can be cited as DOI 10.5281/zenodo.15181346. While I was perusing the Snettisham volumes, I happened to notice an image of a tubular torc from Hoard A at Snettisham, torc A.1. This torc was found by Ray Williamson …
by Tess Machling [A download/print PDF version can be found at the end of the paper]. This paper can be cited as DOI 10.5281/zenodo.15181375 A friend (thank you David!) today reminded me of something I've been intending to write about for quite a long time, but never quite got round to. As it's Christmas and …
by Tess Machling [A download/print PDF version can be found at the end of the paper] This paper can be cited as: DOI 10.5281/zenodo.14193776 Introduction A few months ago, I received an email from Andrew Fitzpatrick, a fellow Iron Age specialist, regarding something he had seen in Christopher Tripp's book, Thurrock’s Deeper Past: a confluence of …
Continue reading "The mysterious case of the West Tilbury torc from Essex."
by Tess Machling & Giovanna Fregni [A download/print PDF version can be found at the end of the paper] This paper can be cited as: DOI 10.5281/zenodo.13911434 Abstract In September 2024 a paper, ‘The Pulborough gold torc: a 4th to 3rd century BCE artefact of European significance’ was published by a British Museum team in …
Continue reading "Fake or fortunate? The insecure provenance of the ‘Pulborough Area’ torc."
The Big Book of Torcs 