Now Ely Museum has found the £220,000 needed to acquire torc, the talk will be about the detectorist and land owner who’ll share the cash

A Bronze Age torc - one of the largest found in Britain and unearthed by metal detectorists in a Fordham field – is to go on show to the public after Ely Museum raised £220,000 to buy it.

“Thanks to all your kind donations (offline as well as online) we have now reached our target,” said a museum spokesman.

“We hope to have the torc on display this autumn. If you would still like to donate, contributions towards display costs are gratefully received.”

An exceptional example of a Middle Bronze Age four-flange twisted gold bar torc the prized discovery was made on September 26, 2015. It weighs in at 732 grams (of almost pure gold) and measures 126.5 cm in length.

Main donors to the appeal are the National Heritage Memorial Fund who have offered £150,000 towards the purchase of the torc and the V&A Purchase Grant who have offered an additional £40,000. The museum has also received two smaller grants from other funders.

Neil Wilkin, curator of Bronze Age Europe at the British Museum has described the workmanship as “astonishing”.

Museum officials believe the torc may have been worn by pregnant women as a form or protection, or used to ornament a sacrificial animal.

The land owner and the finder will share the money.