- The Technology of Metalwork -
the more important metal. Familiar forms are re-interpreted in silver, such as torques
formed from twisting silver bars alternating with beaded or twisted wires. Some of
the silver torques make more inventive use of their component bars and wires, with
knots, side-loops and other ornaments incorporated into the hoops. Such features are
not unique to the Celtiberian silver but appear in Switzerland and in some Roman
jewellery. Copper alloy types are also repeated in silver, for example fibulae, spiral
armlets and small vessels. Gold is particularly characteristic of the smaller jewellery,
fibulae and earrings, where the basic forms are embellished with wire wrapping,
filigree, soldered beads and granulation. Some large hoards, such as Arrabalde I,
Zamora, Spain, display the full range of techniques (Delibes de Castro and Esparza
Arroyo 1989; Perea Caveda and Rovira Llorens forthcoming).
SNETTISHAMThe phenomenon of the Snettisham treasure is remarkable in many ways: in its
chronology, the clear association of the bulk of the material with one workshop and
one style of metalworking, the remarkable nature of some of the imports, and the
special nature of its deposition (Clarke 1954; Sealey 1979; Stone 1987; Stead 1991).
As discussed in the previous paragraphs, gold work in the British Isles during
the Hallstatt and most of the La Tene Iron Ages seems to have been confined to the
production of ribbon torcs in Scotland and Ireland and the acceptance of a small
number of imports such as the Clonmacnois torque, clearly a continental type. The
evidence available today suggests that gold vanished completely from southern
England between the seventh and second centuries AD. The first hint of a return is
the arrival of imported Gallo-gold coins, particularly the Gallo-Belgic types towards
the end of the second century Be (Fitzpatrick 1992).
To metalsmiths working in southern England the metallurgy of gold and gold
alloys would have been completely unknown, as would the range of techniques
that depend on their specific properties (thin foils, filigree, granulation, soldering,
etc.), and there is no evidence that they acquired this knowledge. The techniques
that can be attributed to the Snettisham smiths are simply those common to La Tene
bronzeworking in the same area. As discussed in the chapter on bronze, the
introduction and extensive use of cire perdu casting techniques was the major
innovation of that period. The necessary skills were developed to a high degree in
the manufacture of fibulae, weapon fittings and horse-harness. These were adapted
very well to make the patterned and textured surfaces of the ring terminals of the
most elaborate torques. The art developed for the Snettisham-style gold castings
was then transferred back to bronze, where, for example, a sword pommel from a
neighbouring parish in Norfolk exhibits it (Gregory pers. comm.).
At the same time the workshops had great experience in the forging of copper
alloys, both as wire in brooches and pins, and as sheet in everything from cauldrons
to scabbards and shield fittings, with particular skill in the production of abstract,
three-dimensional geometric designs in repousse. This ability is repeated in some of
the torque terminals from the new discoveries at Snettisham (Stead 1991) and in the
bracelet from the earlier finds. One thing that characterizes these pieces is the use