Leicestershire County Council is on board with a fundraising scheme to save a 3,000-year-old golden torc.
The Bronze Age torc was found near Harborough last year and is believed to have existed as a ‘piece of very high-status jewellery’ that originated roughly 3,200 years ago.
A report by the Portable Antiquities Scheme found that the item is worth £150,000, with the Leicestershire Archaeological and Historical Society (LAHS) having started a campaign to support Leicestershire County Council Museums in acquiring the torc so it can be displayed at Harborough Museum.
The council’s museum service has so far raised £126,837 via contributions from both national and local funders. However, a further £23,163 is required to ensure the torc remains in the county, LAHS has explained.
To help reach the target, a crowdfunder has been launched by LAHS, with the aim of raising at least £10,000 by March 20.
LAHS has warned that without sufficient funds, ‘the object could effectively disappear from sight, denying future generations the opportunity to see for themselves the objects of their own past’.
Professor Elizabeth Tingle, Chair of the LAHS, said: ‘Finds like this are rare and this beautiful object is a unique and significant object of a type never before found in Leicestershire’.
She added: ‘There is no other torc exactly like it in the whole country, so it is of national as well as local importance. We want to make sure that it can come home to Leicestershire and add to our understanding about the Bronze Age in the county.’
A full scientific analysis of the torc will be completed by Leicestershire Museums and the University of Leicester if the object is acquired, allowing for further research into the Bronze Age.
Cllr Kevin Crook, Leicestershire County Council’s lead member for heritage, added: ‘It would be an honour to be able to bring this rare find to Harborough Museum where local people can learn about its history.
‘All the teams involved have worked extremely hard to secure specialised funding and we’re hopeful that with the help of the crowd fund launch from the Leicestershire Archaeological and Historical Society, we’ll be able to bring it home.’
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