"Once upon a time, somebody owned it, wore it and was proud of it. Somebody probably told stories about it. It may have been worn on special occasions, perhaps at weddings, funerals, or feasts." The owner was probably rich and powerful. But no one has ever been found buried with this type of jewellery, so it's not certain whether it was worn by a man or a woman. As for where the torc came from, the mystery deepens, although researchers and metallurgists have been seeking the answer. Trevor Cowie thought it was probably not crafted in Scotland, but rather in Wales, Ireland or southern England. The metal has been analysed and found to be gold of the highest purity. The results are now being compared with analyses of other goldwork of the period. Bronze Age people did cross the seas to trade, and the torc could have been imported to Scotland as a wedding gift or to seal a friendship between chieftains. It may have gone to the bottom of the sea with its owner in a shipwreck. However, it has been impossible to pinpoint exactly where the torc was dredged up, so it is very difficult to launch a search for an ancient wreck. Indeed the torc may have been cast overboard deliberately as a religious offering. What does seem certain is that a sea trip was involved. There has been some coastal erosion in the Shiant Islands over the last three millennia, but it is unlikely that the torc was lost, left, or last seen, on dry land. |
