TORCS IN EARLY HISTORIC SCOTLAND

Abstract

Summary Torcs are a prominent element in the Gododdin poem from Early Historic Scotland. This is intriguing as the archaeological evidence for torcs is much earlier. Examination of references to torcs in the poem shows that they were important status symbols worn by the entire war band. Archaeological evidence shows that gold torcs were worn in this area during the Iron Age, and in the early Roman period torcs occur on both native and Roman military sites. Some examples on Roman sites seem to be linked to the ala Petriana, an elite cavalry unit. As the poem is concerned with another elite cavalry group whose ancestors interacted with the ala Petriana the poetic prominence of torcs was probably influenced by this. Sculptural and hoard evidence confirms the use of torcs in Early Historic Scotland and reinforces both the idea of Roman influence and the link with cavalry.