Editing Torc (section)

==Terminology and definition==
[[File:Gold Torc from the Stirling Hoard (9476773541).jpg|thumb|Unusually complex gold spiral ribbon torc from the [[Stirling torcs|Stirling Hoard]], Scotland]]

The word comes from [[Latin]] ''[[wikt:torquis|torquis]]'' (or ''torques''), from ''[[wikt:torqueo|torqueo]]'', "to twist", because of the twisted shape many of the rings have.  Typically, neck-rings that open at the front when worn are called "torcs" and those that open at the back "collars".  Smaller [[bracelet]]s and [[Arm ring|armlets]] worn around the wrist or on the upper arm sometimes share very similar forms.  Torcs were made from single or multiple intertwined [[metal]] rods, or "ropes" of twisted wire. Most of those that have been found are made from gold or bronze, less often silver, iron or other metals (gold, bronze and silver survive better than other metals when buried for long periods).

Elaborate examples,  sometimes hollow, used a variety of techniques but complex decoration was usually begun by [[casting]] and then worked by further techniques. The [[Ipswich Hoard]] includes unfinished torcs that give clear evidence of the stages of work.<ref>Brailsford, 19</ref> Flat-ended terminals are called "buffers", and in types like the "fused-buffer" shape, where what resemble two terminals are actually a single piece, the element is called a "muff".<ref>[https://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=830688 Example in the British Museum]</ref>