by Tess Machling
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.21860528 Abstract. Previous work (Machling et al. 2023, Machling & Fregni 2024, Machling & Frieman 2024) has discussed the likely involvement of Harry Price in the fraudulent production/deposition of the Pulborough Area …
by Tess Machling I had the very great pleasure of being able to visit this intriguing torc recently and, as you'll see from below, it has a rather fabulous story to tell us, both in the past... and in the present. I must first say thanks to curator Sarah Williams at Tamworth Castle museum, who …
Continue reading "The Staffordshire Torc Odyssey: 15 Glascote up close"
by Tess Machling [A download/print PDF version can be found at the end of the paper] I am going to be completely honest: since I started writing about detecting, as well as receiving support from some quarters (you know who you are: thank you! 🙂 ) I have also, despite being unceasingly polite, received a …
Continue reading "P.S. A correction to the DCMS FOI Treasure reward figures"
by Tess Machling [A download/print PDF version can be found at the end of the paper] Having previously written about the H7 torc from Snettisham a few years ago, I recently had the chance to see it up close at Norwich Castle Museum. This blog details the torc and once again, shows the value of …
By Tess Machling [A download/print PDF version can be found at the end of the paper] ‘My members don’t want to be quasi-archaeologists, they want to go out on a Sunday, dig around, get dirty, find something good’ John Wells, the Association for Metal Detecting Sport in oral evidence to the All Party Parliamentary Archaeology …
Continue reading "‘That belongs in a museum’: The true ‘cost’ of detecting in England and Wales."
[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 …
The Big Book of Torcs 