Gold torque within Celtic coin hoard
Archaeologists separating the contents of the
largest known Celtic coin hoard have uncovered a number of gold items
mixed in with the coins. The hoard, which was found on Jersey in the
British Channel Islands, consists of 70,000 coins estimated to weigh a
half ton in all. The researchers have so far removed a shoebox-sized
portion of the hoard, revealing one complete gold torque and parts of
six others.
The hoard is thought to date to around 50 B.C., when the Romans, led
by Julius Caesar, were advancing north through France conquering Celtic
tribes as they went. “We think they were trying to get their wealth out
of the way,” says Neil Mahrer, a museum conservator with Jersey
Heritage, “presumably with the idea of coming back for it later.”
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