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Thracian Treasures -
The link to the ancient tradition of drinking wine
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
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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
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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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Borovo Treasure
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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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Letnitsa Treasure
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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 appliques 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 appliques a human figure is used for a horse trappings adornment. According to the depicted subject the appliques may be divided into two groups: appliques representing a fight between animals and others with mythological scenes. |
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Mask Found in Bulgaria in August 2004
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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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