The Leicestershire Archaeological and Historical Society (LAHS) has launched a crowdfunding campaign to secure a rare 3,000-year-old gold torc discovered near Market Harborough and ensure it remains in the county.
Unearthed in 2024 by a local metal detectorist, the torc dates to the Middle Bronze Age — around 3,200 years ago. This high-status gold ornament may have originally been worn around the waist like a belt before later being adapted to be worn around the neck. It is the only example of its kind ever found in Leicestershire.
The find was reported to the Portable Antiquities Scheme, officially declared Treasure, and valued at £150,000. Leicestershire County Council Museums hopes to acquire it for Harborough Museum so it can stay part of the county’s heritage.
So far, £127,000 has been raised through major contributions from the Art Fund, the Arts Council England/V&A Purchase Grant Fund, LAHS, the Market Harborough Historical Society, and the Leicestershire Fieldworkers group. Organisers are now working to raise at least £10,000 more by 20 March to secure the purchase.
If the remaining funds are not raised, the torc could be acquired by a private collector in the UK or abroad, meaning it may never go on public display in Leicestershire.
Councillor Kevin Crook, cabinet member for heritage, said it would be an honour to see the object displayed locally so residents can learn from it. Professor Elizabeth Tingle, Chair of LAHS, emphasized that there is no other torc exactly like it in the country, making it nationally as well as locally significant.
Plans include detailed scientific analysis by the University of Leicester’s “A New History of Bronze” project, which could reveal more about how the torc was crafted and used.
It’s one of those moments where a community gets to decide whether a piece of its deep past stays public studied, displayed, and shared or disappears into private hands. A glittering slice of the Bronze Age, hanging in the balance.
