Ourense Torcs

The Ourense Torcs are a pair of Iron Age gold torc neck rings found near Ourense in Northwest Spain in the 1950s. They were acquired by the British Museum in 1960.

Ourense Torcs
The Orense Torcs on display at the British Museum
Material	Gold
Size	13.7cm diameter
Created	c. 300-150 BC
Present location	British Museum, London
Registration	1960,0503.1-2

Discovery

The exact find spot of the two neck rings has never been confirmed but experts have determined, based on the shape and design of the torcs, that they originate from Ourense in the province of Galicia near the Spanish/Portuguese border.

Description

The two gold torcs are nearly identical with double reel-shaped terminals and circular body. The terminals have a large tapered central depression, with embossed ornamentation around the edge. Their Celtic design is characteristic of the torcs produced in Galicia and northern Portugal, in the Iberian Peninsula.

See also

• Castro Culture
• Braganza Brooch
• Cordoba Treasure

Gallery of Galician torcs

• 
  Northern Galician torcs
• 
  Torc terminal from A Guarda, Galicia. Museo do Castro de St. Tegra
• 
  Northern Gallaeci torc (Artabri type with "pear" terminals), showing construction, and decoration of the hoop
• 
  Torc from Burela, Galicia, with double moulding scotiae terminals, and hoop decoration. At 1.812 kilos, the heaviest Iberian torc.
• 
  A Gallaecian warrior's head, wearing helmet and a torc. Museo Provincial de Ourense

Bibliography

• M. Lenerz-de Wilde, 'The Celts in Spain' in The Celtic World, London and New York, Routledge, 1995
• I. Stead, Celtic Art, British Museum Press, 1996
• Megaw Ruth and Vincent, Celtic Art: From Its Beginnings to the Book of Kells, 2001