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LONDÝNSKÉ BRITISH MUSEUM VYSTAVUJE NEJVĚTŠÍ KELTSKÝ ZLATÝ TORQUES Z LET 1300-1100 PŘ. KR., OBJEVENÝ ROKU 2015 MINOHLEDAČKÁŘEM NA POLI V GRUNTY FEN, CAMBRIDGESHIRE.
Londýnské British Museum představuje na výstavě to nejlepší z 82.272 archeologických předmětů, nalezených minohledačkáři ve Velké Británii roku 2015. Největší pozornost se soustředila k obrovskému zlatému keltskému torquesu, vykopanému v hrabství Cambridgeshire na jihovýchodě Anglie, kde se nachází i proslulá Univerzita. Torques z doby bronzové váží 732 gr a je
2 dlouhý 1,25 m, zdaleka tak přesahuje běžné rozměry torquesů, určených k nošení na krku nebo zápěstích. Specialisté z British Museum jsou přesvědčeni, že mohl sloužit pro obřady plodnosti v případě těhotné ženy. Druhou hypotézou je, že byl zavěšován na nějaké zvíře, kozu nebo ovci, obětované při obřadech. Všichni se shodují na významu nálezu: „Je to ten nejlepší v Anglii za celé století“. Torques, který bude nyní oceněn, pochází z období let 1300-1100 př. Kr. Jeho objevitel se rozhodnul zůstat v anonymitě. Objevil ho s pomocí minohledačky a po předběžném svolení majitele pozemku na poli, zoraném pro setbu. Pole je vzdáleno 80 km od významné lokality z doby bronzové, Must Farm.
Tržní cena.
Ještě nebyla stanovena jeho tržní cena, ale před třemi roky dosáhnul mnohem menší torques, nalezený v severním Irsku, ceny 200.000 euros. Podle anglického systému má při jeho zakoupení přednost nejbližší muzeum, v tomto případě Ely Museum, ve stejnojmenném městě, které již začalo shromažďovat potřebné prostředky. Pokud se mu to nezdaří, bude na řadě Muzeum antropologie v Cambridge. Londýnské British Museum ho bude moci zakoupit, pokud obě zmíněná muzea nedokážou shromáždit dostatečné fondy. Muž, který tento vzácný zlatý šperk nalezl, ho přinesl v obyčejné aktovce do Muzea v Peterborouh. Když ho ukázal jeho konzervátorům, způsobil doslova šok. Torquesy byly spojeny se životem a neobjevují se obvykle ve hrobech zesnulých, jak řekli specialisté. (Hallan un enorme torques de oro en Reino Unido, v: „Arqueología, Terrae Antiqvae“, blog José Luise Santose Fernándeze z 1.12. 2016, http://terraeantiqvae.com/profiles/blogs/hallan-un-enorme-torques-de-oro-en-reino-unido, přel. fjh; předkládané texty jsou nekomerčním studijním materiálem Centro di Storia della Chiesa Carlo-Simone e Versilia Dublanc při Římskokatolické farnosti v Nové Bystřici, Vídeňská 8, 378 33 Nová Bystřice, zaměřeným k rozšíření obzorů účastníků jeho přednáškových programů, křesťanských pedagogů, studentů a zájemců o církevní dějiny. Autorská práva náleží autorům samým či svrchu uvedeným institucím, nakladatelstvím a redakcím).
„The Guardian“ z 28.11. 2016 https://www.theguardian.com/science/2016/nov/28/spectacular-bronze-age-gold-torc-unearthed-cambridgeshire-field
Spectacular bronze age gold torc unearthed in Cambridgeshire field Gigantic item found by a metal detectorist is among recent finds in England and Wales reported to archaeological authorities.
3 A gigantic gold torc, so big one expert thinks it may have been worn to protect a pregnant woman, has been found by a metal detectorist in a ploughed field in Cambridgeshire. It was made from 730 grams of almost pure gold more than 3,000 years ago, and is regarded as the best found in England in more than a century. The workmanship closely resembles one from nearby Grunty Fen, found in 1844 by a man cutting peat, now in the collection of the archaeology museum of Cambridge University. However, like many torcs that were apparently buried for ritual reasons, that one had been coiled up. The find site is within 50 miles of Must farm, the extraordinary bronze age villagein the shadow of a chip factory on the edge of Peterborough. „There was a lot going on in bronze age East Anglia“, said Neil Wilkin, the curator of bronze age Europe at the British Museum, „but it’s been a while since we’ve had anything as hefty as this“. Torcs are usually described as collars, with the longer ones thought by some to have been worn as belts, but Wilkin checked in shops and said this torc was longer than even extra-large waist measurements of men’s trousers. Wilkin said they were never found buried with the remains of the dead, and were clearly associated with life - he wondered if it could have been loaned by the tribe to be worn as protection by a woman in late pregnancy. Alternatively, he thought it could have been a magnificent ornament to give extra value to an animal about to be sacrificed, adding: „It would fit a goat or a sheep“. The site and the finder have remained anonymous, but the discovery was reported to the local finds liaison officer through the network of archaeologists recording such finds - including treasure which must by law be reported and voluntary reporting of lower value but historically priceless finds. The Treasure and Portable Antiquities schemes are run through the British Museum, which reported the latest haul of 1,008 treasure objects and 82,272 archaeological finds in England and Wales. The torc was reported to Helen Fowler at a finds meeting at Peterborough Museum, who said she was „gobsmacked“ when it came out of the finder’s briefcase. The last torc she had handled was bracelet sized, but this one was far too big to fit on her weighing scales and she had to borrow a box from the museum to take it back to her office. Wilkin said the workmanship was astonishing: the torc was shaped from a square section bar of gold, and then twisted and burnished. „If you take callipers, and measure the gaps between the twists, they are absolutely spot on accurate“.
4 The torc is still being valued, but it is hoped Ely Museum will acquire it, with the reward shared between finder and landowner. The slightly shorter and lighter Corrard torc, found in Northern Ireland, was valued at up to £150,000 three years ago. One of the oddest recent treasure finds was a criminal’s hoard of hundreds of what look like blackened toenail cuttings, from Gloucestershire. They proved to be clipped fragments of 463 silver coins, dating from the reigns of Charles I and II, some with the names of the monarchs still legible, snipped off neatly with shears when the Treasury had offered to swap the new machine-made currency for the old handmade coins. Clipping meant the person got a new coin and a little scrap of valuable silver - a capital offence. „It’s an interesting question why this hoard was never retrieved and melted down - maybe he was hanged“, said the British Museum coins expert Barrie Cook of the onetime owner. Other finds included a unique object, though there must originally have been at least two more identical pieces: a looped mount for an Anglo-Saxon hanging bowl, beautifully inlaid with coloured enamel and glass. It was found in a field near Littlehampton, West Sussex, by Tyndall Jones, a retired sports outfitter. He felt shy about showing it to his local finds officer, because he feared it might be comparatively modern. „I was quite surprised when I showed it to her and she was absolutely jumping up and down with excitement“, he said. It was valued at up to £1,500, and Jones offered to buy out the landowner’s share so he could give it to Littlehampton Museum, but instead they agreed a joint donation. „It’s such a pleasure finding a piece like this“, Jones said, „but I never felt I was the owner, only the caretaker. It should be seen by more people“.
„Mail online“ z 29.11. 2016 http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3981340/3-000-year-old-gold-belt-worn-pregnant-woman-fertilityritual-stunning-treasures-UK-year.html
Revealed: 3,000-year-old gold belt worn by a pregnant woman during a fertility ritual is among the stunning treasures found in the UK last year. Thousands of artefacts were uncovered by the public in the UK last year. The British Museum highlighted key finds as it launched its annual report Included were silver coin clippings, and a gold torc dating back to 1300 BC. The torc is thought to have been worn as a belt over clothing, as part of animal sacrifice or even by pregnant women in fertility ceremonies. Ryan O´HARE.
5 Members of the public uncovered a treasure trove of ancient artefacts last year, a report has revealed. Among the thousands of archaeological finds is a huge Bronze Age belt made of gold and a hoard of 17th century silver coin clippings. Experts believe the belt, or 'torc', may have been worn by pregnant women during fertility ceremonies in Bronze Age Britain. The Bronze Age gold torc found in Cambridgeshire, dating from 1100 to 1300 BC, is one of the largest and most spectacular to be found, experts said. Torcs were normally worn around the neck, but this one, weighing 732 g (26 Oz), is too large to fit a person's waist and may have been designed to be worn over thick winter clothing, as a sash, or by a prized animal in the course of a sacrifice. According to The Times, the museum's Bronze Age curator, Neil Wilkin, speculated that the torc may have been used in fertility rituals. He said: 'There is this idea of fertility and growth... it has had very little wear so could have been used in some type of ceremony and we know that ceremonies are very important for this time.'. The gold torc and other treasures were on display at a photocall at the British Museum in London. The 82,272 discoveries were made mostly by people who were metal-detecting, according to the Portable Antiquities Scheme annual report launched at the British Museum. More than a thousand discoveries of 'treasure' - such as gold or silver ornaments or coin collections and prehistoric metalwork - were made in England, Wales and Northern Ireland last year, the report reveals. The 1,008 finds included a Roman grave in Hertfordshire and a hoard of Viking Age objects and Anglo-Saxon coins in a field near Watlington, Oxfordshire. Archaeological items, the majority of which were found on cultivated land where items can be at risk of damage from ploughing and corrosion, ranged from thousands of stone flints to a rare Bronze Age shield in Suffolk. An Anglo-Saxon hanging bowl mount was discovered in West Sussex and dates from 600 to 725 AD. It is decorated with swirling motifs set against bright red enamel and glass inlay and the hook at the top is moulded into an animal's head. A large rare hoard of 463 silver coin clippings and fragments from Gloucestershire are thought to have been buried around the time of the 'great recoinage' in 1696, when all pre-1662 hand-struck coinage was recalled and turned into machine-struck coins.
6 The move produced a bout of 'clipping' - removing silver from the edge - of the old money, a criminal activity for which perpetrators faced the death penalty. The clippings found in Gloucestershire show the complete removal of the inscription from the coins, which include half-crowns, shillings and sixpences dating from 1554 to 1662. Finds reported through the Portable Antiquities Scheme revealed new archaeological sites including an English Civil War siege in Shropshire and a Roman villa in Wiltshire. Tracey Crouch, Minister for Heritage, said: 'The Portable Antiquities Scheme enables us to learn more about our nation's history and preserve and safeguard treasure for generations to come. 'New discoveries keep getting made every year through the scheme that then find their way into our wonderful museums across the country.' More than 1.2 million finds have been recorded by the Portable Antiquities Scheme, managed by the British Museum with local and national partners, since 1997. TREASURE FINDS IN 2015 According to the British Museum, 82,272 discoveries were made in 2015. The discoveries were made mostly by people using metal detectors. A total of 1,008 discoveries of gold or silver ornaments or coin collections and prehistoric metalwork - were made in England, Wales and Northern Ireland last year. Finds include a Roman grave in Hertfordshire and a hoard of Viking Age objects and Anglo-Saxon coins in a field near Watlington, Oxfordshire.
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ukořistit keltský torques bylo vždy znamením mimořádné statečnosti - zde vidíme pergamského jezdce 2. stol. př. Kr., vítězně třímajícího zlatý torques, který odejmul zabitému nájezdníkovi z maloasijského keltského kmene Galatů (Д.П. Алексинского)
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centurio Legio XIII v boji s Galy. Caesarovy Galské války výrazně přispěly k tomu, že se ukořistěný torques, respektive dva torquesy, zavěšené na pásku kolem krku na kroužkové zbroji (lorica hamata), staly standardní dekorací římských centurionů; k nim srov. Raffaele D´AMATO, I centurioni romani 753 A.C. - 500 D.C., Gorizia, Libreria Editrice Goriziana /= Biblioteca di arte militare, 25/, 2012, ISBN978-88-6102-033-7. Jméno torquesu se promítlo i do rozlišování legií podle znamení na štítech, jak nedávno upozornil Sébastien Lemoine ve své studii Le soldat auxiliaire romain u Ier siècle, v: „Prétorien. Antiquité - Moyen Âge“ /Štrasburk/, č.28, říjen-prosinec 2013, s. 22: zatímco legie v 1. stol. po Kr. běžně nošily na štítech známé archaické znamení Jupiterových blesků (gladius římských občanů zasahoval jako jejich prodloužení nepřátele Říma), po vítězství v bitvách dostávaly titul legio torquata a mohly na štítě nosit znamení vavřínového věnce.
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Caesarův centurio občanské války v dešti šípů (Radu Oltean)
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(Velimir Vuksić)
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centurio a aquilifer
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optio a centurio
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centurio (Peter Dennis)
