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THRACE - THE OLDEST CIVILIZATION
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THRACIAN TREASURES
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SOME OF THE THRACIANS' WINE GOBLETS FROM MORE THAN 25 CENTURIES.
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Vulchitrun Treasure
The treasure was discovered by accident on 18
December 1924 by two brothers who were
deep-ploughing their field four kilometers from
the village of Vulchitran, Pleven district. The
ploughmen stumbled across 13 gold objects at a
depth of about 40-cm. It consists of 13 vessels - a
large, deep vessel with two handles, one big and
three small cups with one handle each, two big
and five smaller discs. All items are made of solid
gold, the total weight is 12.425 kg. The vessels
were used in cult ceremonies. This treasure is
the most remarkable example of the art of the
Later Bronze Age in Thrace (13-12 c. BC).
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Panagyurishte Treasure
September 8th, 1949 three
brothers while digging for
clay for brick-making near
the town of Panagyurishte in
Sredna Gora Mountain of
central Bulgaria, came upon
what was obviously an
important treasure. Dated to
the turn of the fourth and
third century BC, the find
was sensational, not only for
its weight in gold - over 6 kg,
but also for the originality of
its forms. It consists of 9
golden vessels and
represents a wine drinking
set: seven rhytons - three
with the form of an animal
head, three with the form of
an Amazon, one with the
form of a fore-part of a goat,
one amphora-rhyton and one
phial.
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Rogozen Treasure
The Rogozen treasure, called the
find of the century, was also
discovered by chance. In this
case the finder was a tractor
driver, who in the autumn of 1985
was digging a trench in his garden
when he discovered a collection
of sixty-five silver receptacles. On
January 6, 1986, in a second trench
near the first one, a hundred more
receptacles were found by the
archaeologists of the local
museum. The treasure consists of
hundred and eight phials, fifty-four
jugs and three goblets. All the
objects are silver and some with
golden gilt. Their total weight is
twenty kilograms. The
ornamentation, embossed in relief,
is different in every case. This
variety of motifs and decorative
elements makes the Rogozen
Treasure an invaluable source of
information for the fifth and fourth
centuries, BC.
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Varna Chalcolithic Necropolis
The Varna Chalcolithic Necropolis which experts
qualify as "the world's oldest gold" and a trace
of "Europe's most ancient civilization" was a
sensational discovery. It is situated about 500m
to the north of Lake Varna and about 4 km to the
west of the downtown. In 294 graves were
discovered more than 3000 golden objects dating
back 6000 years. In Hall 6 of Varna Museum of
History is exhibited the whole inventory from
some of the most significant graves. On both
sides of the entrance are represented the
graves with masks of human faces shaped out on
spot and appliquéd with gold plates. The rich
variety of funeral utensils going along with the
dead is best illustrated by two of the symbolic
graves / No 4 and No 36/. In grave No 4 have
been found two unique vessels where the typical
for the time decoration of strongly stylized
geometrical symbols is fulfilled in golden paint.
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Borovo Treasure
At the end of December 1974 another
treasure, dated from the first half of the
fourth century BC, came to light at Borovo. It
consists of luxurious five-vessel drinking set.
Three of them are rhytons ending in the
protomes of a horse, a bull, and a sphinx. The
fourth is a large two-handled bowl in the
center of which a deer attacked by a griffin is
depicted in relief. The fifth is richly
ornamented silver juggled, with two bands in
relief depicting scenes connected with the
cult of Dionysus. On the upper frieze the god
is tearing animals to pieces, and chasing
satyrs or being chased by them. We can see
Dionysus with Ariadne, standing out in a
poetic dream. On the lower part the god
marries Ariadne, who unbinds her belt the
treasure bears an inscription in Greek letters
with the name of the Thracian King Kotys I
who reined the Odryssaean Kingdom from 383
to 359 BC and that of the craftsman Etbeos.
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Loukovit Treasure
The treasure of Loukovit must have
been buried in the period of the
Macedonian rule in Thrace,
perhaps during the reign of
Alexander the Great, when he was
crossing the lands of the Tribally. It
was dated to the second half of the
fourth century BC. The treasure
consists of three small pitchers,
nine phials and a large number of
silver appliqués, decorated with
animal motifs and figures of
horsemen. On two of them a lion
with gilded mane attacks a stag
whose legs are folded under the
body. The artifacts are the work of
different craftsmen which shows
that it was brought together
gradually and also proves the rich
artistic life in the northern Thracian
lands in the fourth century BC.
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Vratsa Treasure from Mogilanska Mound
The treasure of Vratsa from the Mogilanska mound
comprised three tombs which were yielded, during 1965-66
excavations in the heart of the city. Two were plundered
back in antiquity, and the third contained a funeral of a man
and a woman, one of the richest to be discovered in Thrace.
There are several striking artifacts among the multitude of
gold and silver objects intended to serve the deceased in
the next life. A silver cone-shaped pitcher suggests that the
dead were initiated into the Dionysian cult, since the cone
was a symbol of Dionysus. The gold laurel wreath and
earrings show remarkable sophistication and craftsmanship.
The gold pitcher is interesting with its handle fashioned like
a Herculean knot which is right over the plume-ornamented
bodies of the two chariots drawn by four horses each. Since
the chariot is always a symbol of the sun god, many scholars
believe that the chariot driver is Apollo - the principle god of
the Tribally. Here a unique knee-piece with a female head
figure was found. Knee-pieces were part of ancient warriors'
protective armor and were intended to protect legs. A
perfectly symmetrical, framed by an intricate coiffure and
crowned with a gilded ivy wreath human face covers the
kneecap. There are bird-shaped earrings, with two serpents
outlining the face in the background. In the lower part, their
bodies blend into those of roaring lions, whose heads lock
right under the chin. Another two serpents on the
knee-piece have promotes that blend into griffin lions.
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A golden wreath from a burial
mound (of a Thracian princess)
near the town of Vratsa (first half
of the 4th c. BC). Regional
Museum of History - Vratsa
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Letnitsa Treasure
Letnitsa treasure dates
back to 400 - 350 BC. It
was found in a bronze
vessel and like many
treasures was an
accidental discovery. It
consists of a bit, a
headstall and small
pierced silver plaques,
part of harness. Each
appliqués has a ring on
its back, through which
the strap fastening is
passed.
What are new about this
treasure are the
twenty-four square or
rectangular scenes of
mythology or of everyday
life. For the first time in
these appliqués a human
figure is used for a horse
trappings adornment.
According to the
depicted subject the
appliqués may be divided
into two groups:
appliqués representing a
fight between animals
and others with
mythological scenes.
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Mask Found in Bulgaria in August 2004
2500-year-old gold mask of a Thracian king,
buried in the second half of 5th c. B.C., was found
by the archaeologist, Ass.Prof. Georgi Kitov, in
the Valley of Kings near the town of Kazanluk.
The mask is made by massive gold and weighs
690 gr.
The masks discovered in ancient Mycenae are
very thin and no more than 40-50 grams in
weight, and the Bulgarian find is 23-carat gold
and weighs 694 grams, Dr. Georgy Kitov says. In
order to be sure that this is a mask of Teres,
Sitalk's father, the archaeologists will compare
the golden mask with the image of the legendary
Odryssian king within a week term. Except for
the mask the archaeologists found a massive
golden ring. Its weight is 15 gr. A bronze
breastplate is among the finds, too.
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