The gold ribbon torcs pictured above were found at Lower Largo in 1848 but date back to 300 BC - 50 AD. On display at the National Museum of Scotland on Chambers Street in Edinburgh, they can be seen in the Scotland Galleries, in the Early People section (on Level -1). The term 'torc' usually refers to a necklet but can also be applied to smaller armlets or bracelets such as these. These three bracelets (and two fragments of another) consist of spirally twisted gold, finished with recurved ends.
The technique created simple but elegant decorative jewellery. The ends were curved backwards to form simple hooks for fastening. Expensive and high status items of jewellery, these torcs were worn to demonstrate the status and wealth of their owners. This style of jewellery was popular for a lengthy period of time and many similar examples have been found elsewhere, including Aberdeenshire, Ross-shire, Perthshire and Moray.
Below is an extract of information from the 'notice' of presentation of the objects to the museum. They were presented by Robert Dundas of Arniston, in 1883, the same year that his mother Lilias Dundas Calderwood Durham (former resident of Largo House) had died. Note that these were presented at the same time as the silver discovered at Norrie's Law, which is displayed alongside the gold torcs within the museum to this day.
The Largo discovery was highlighted on many local maps, including the 1912 example below, where the words Gold Armlets found (A.D. 1848) can be seen just north of Rollo Villa. As a site of antiquity, it is marked by the cross with small circles at the ends. The armlets were found together during the winter of 1848 "on the top of a steep bank which slopes down to the sea, among some loose earth, which was being dug to be carted away". It is fortunate that they escaped the melting pot, unlike the silver hoard discovered at Norrie's Law - most of which was illegally sold to silversmiths for reuse around 1819.
You can learn more about the techniques of ancient goldsmiths and the process of making a gold ribbon torc using early tools and technology here.
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