Thracian Treasure Trove!

I have come across a good treasure trove story for awhile.  Happy to see there's still treasure around, but you know the looters will now descend (if they haven't been there already!)

From Novinite.com

Bulgarian Archaeologists Find Unique Gold Thracian Treasure
November 8, 2012

Bulgarian archaeologists have found a unique gold Thracian treasure in the famous Sveshtari tomb.

The team, led by one of the most prominent Bulgarian experts on Thracian archaeology, Prof. Diana Gergova, from the National Archaeology Institute at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, BAS, made the discovery during excavations at the so-called Omurtag mount.

The researchers found fragments of a wooden box, containing charred bones and ashes, along with a number of extremely well-preserved golden objects, dated from the end of the 4th and the beginning of the 3rd century B. C.. They include four spiral gold bracelets, and a number of intricate applications like one which shows the head of a female goddess adorned with beads, applications on horse riding gear and a forehead covering in the shape of a horse head with a base shaped like a lion head. The objects weigh 1.5 kg, but the excavations continue.

The precious find also contains a ring, buttons and beads. Gergova explains that it seemed the treasure was wrapped in a gold-woven cloth because a number of gold threads were discovered nearby.

The Professor says these were, most likely, remnants from a ritual burial, adding the team expects to discover a huge burial ground, probably related to the funeral of the Gath ruler Kotela, one of the father-in-laws of Philip II of Macedon. She notes this is a unique find, never before discovered in Bulgaria.

According to her, the Omurtag mount is the biggest one in the Gath center, which was their religious and political capital while the Gath were the tribe that influenced the most western tribes such as the Celts.

Gergova expects the treasure will entice the Culture Ministry to finally fund in full this emblematic Thracian site, part of the archaeological reserve Sboryanovo with the Sveshtari tomb, which is on the world cultural-historical heritage list of UNESCO.

The Professor says the Omurtag mount must be turned into a museum where the excavated segment could become an exhibit hall.

Treasure Trove!

Hmmmm, it doesn't sound like the finder of this treasure trove had a good time once the authorities got wind of his discovery.  I wonder how much he was able to salt away elsewhere or sell before he got caught?  And I wonder, did someone turn him in, or was he very stupid about how he handled the discovery he made?  To quote a line from the X Files, TRUST NO ONE.

Jobless Bulgarian stumbles across ancient treasure worth $2 million
September 24, 2011 02:01 AM

SOFIA: A jobless Bulgarian man scraping a living by hunting for scrap metal has uncovered a haul of Bronze Age treasure worth 1.5 million euros, about $2 million.
The 42-year-old discovered the trove of jewellery, coins and tools potentially dating back 4,000 years among the roots of a tree in the northern town of Svichtov.

He initially kept quiet about the find but handed it over to authorities after being questioned by police. Under Bulgaria law such relics are the property of the state. It’s not known how long the lucky man underwent interrogation.

“This major discovery significantly enhances our knowledge of the Bronze Age,” archaeologist Pavlina Vladkova told Bulgaria’s 24 Hours newspaper.

“During this era,” said the expert from the Veliko Tarnovo province’s regional museum, “gold, silver and copper were already known, but use of bronze allowed the crafting of tools.”

Two bronze axes, seven pieces of gold jewellery and six golden coins make up the haul discovered earlier this month.

A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Daily Star on September 24, 2011, on page 15.
(The Daily Star :: Lebanon News :: http://www.dailystar.com.lb)

Copper Age Burial Uncovered in Bulgaria

A rather confusing article, but an intact burial from the Copper Age, rare, may be incredibly important to putting together more pieces of the puzzle of the past.  The Copper Age has different date ranges depending on the area of the world.  In Bulgaria, it was perhaps dated from 7000 to 6500 BCE to about 3500 BCE or later.

From The Sophia Echo
New archaeological discovery illuminates practices from the copper age
Thu, Jul 28 2011 13:25 CET

A well preserved skeleton from the copper age has been discovered in an archaeological reserve in Kozareva mound near Kableshkovo in Pomorie.

The discovery marks an exciting new development for the village that was also a centre for the pottery industry during the fifth century BCE.

According to the head of the excavation, Professor Petya Georgieva, this is the first confirmed tomb from such an early period in southern Bulgaria. The tomb was apparently intact and the bones well preserved. It is still unclear whether the necropolis, in the Neolithic village, which was discovered five years ago, adheres to the first funeral rites characteristic of the Black Sea region.

Scientists claimed in 2009 that the discovery of the oldest ceramic kiln in the Balkans had helped to shed light on the beginnings of civilisation on the Bulgarian coast.

Archaeologists hope that the most recent find will help reveal what happened to the dead in the copper age.

"In the mound we found products of human skulls such as the rondeli, a circle of skulls with drilled holes in them so they can be attached to the neck," says Georgieva.

A separate neolithic tomb, discovered, near Burgas is expected to provide clues regarding the ethnicity of Bulgarians of that era.

7,000 Year Old Village Uncovered in Bulgaria

We (me included) have got to get it out of our heads that the cradle of civilization was in the Middle East - it wasn't!  This is one more example of ruins uncovered of an extensive series of settlements in southern Europe to the west of (and around) the Black Sea coast -- "Old Europe."

From Novinite.com
Bulgarian Archaeologists Unearth 7000-Year-Old Village
Archaeology | September 25, 2010, Saturday

A prehistoric home dated back 7000 years has been uncovered by a team of Bulgarian archaeologists at Telish in the central northern District of Pleven.

The team led by archaeologist Ventsislav Gergov is convinced that the home found in a place known as "Laga" is part of a village with at least 30 houses.

"Our ancient predecessor constructed amazingly robust homes, much more robust than many of the contemporary apartment buildings," Gergov believes.

"The walls of the homes were made of stamped clay mixed with cow manure and straw, and were additionally supported with wooden poles. This is how the home becomes monolithic and acquires amazing heating isolation," [insulation?] he explained.

Gergov has found parts of over 40 highly-ornate ceramic vessels inside the home as well as two clay ovens built one over the other.

The excavations of the site will continue for one more week because of lack of funding. All finds will be turned in to the Pleven Regional History Museum.

This is not Gergov's first prehistoric discovery at Telish; a place which has turned out to harbor some of the oldest remains of civilized settlements in the world.

The archaeologist is also the author of a local project exhibiting two reconstructed rammed earth homes modeled after the findings in the prehistoric excavations as part of an open air museum.

Stumbling Bulgarian Archaeolgist Scores Again

Not sure about this story - something seems not quite right about it.  Isn't this one of the archaeologists who is involved in the St. John the Baptist brou-ha-ha?
At Novinite.com
Top Bulgarian Archaeologist Stumbles Upon 2 Ancient Thrace Tombs
Archaeology | September 1, 2010, Wednesday

Top Bulgarian archaeologist Nikolay Ovcharov is pictured close
to the entrance of one of the two newly found tombs at the holy
 rock city of the Thracians Perperikon. Photo by Darik Kardzhali

Bulgarian archaeologist Nikolay Ovcharov has discovered two tombs of Ancient Thracian rulers near the famous rock city and sanctuary of Perperikon.

The tombs are dated to 1100-1000 BC judging by the pottery and ceramics found in them, which are characteristic of the later Bronze Age and the early Iron Age.

One of the most interesting finds in the tombs is a bronze coin with the face of Emperor Alexander the Great, dated to the 4th century BC. Prof. Ovcharov believes this is a clear evidence that the tomb was venerated as a shrine by the Thracians in the Antiquity for a long time after its original creation.

The archaeological team stumbled across the two tombs as they were working on diverting a tourist path away from a spot of excavations at Perperikon, the holy city of the Thracians.

The tombs are situation in an east-west direction, with the buried notable facing the rising sun, a clear sign of a sun cult.

The excavations have revealed ritual hearths and others signs of sacrifices that were connected with the traditions of venerating the dead as godly creatures.

*******************************************************

Where are photos of the dig and the artifacts? Were the tombs, in fact, undisturbed for 3000 years? Wouldn't that make this discovery much more sensational and worthy of greater news coverage?  What happened to the bodies?

Bulgaria and St. John the Baptist: The Latest --

Die Presse: Bulgarian Minister Spoils Archaeology Discovery
Archaeology | August 12, 2010, Thursday

This is hilarious - a follow-up on the battle between the Bulgarian Diaspora Minister and certain archaeologists.  The article of Die Presse argues that there is not sufficient evidence yet about the origin of the relics pointing out that Dimitrov’s claims are essentially based on an inscription that contains the name “John” and his “archaeology of the soul of the medieval person” which the historian believes is sufficient to declare that there were no fake relics placed in church buildings in the Middle Ages.

No fake relics were placed in church buildings in the Middle Ages - ha ha ha! Ohmygoddess!

From the ridiculous to the ridiculously sublime:

Bulgarian Diaspora Minister Said to Profit from Obscure Book Deals
Society
August 12, 2010, Thursday

The Bulgarian paper 168 Chasa Weekly reports in its Friday issue that in the last few years the controversial minister and famous historian got contracts with the municipalities in Southeast Bulgaria for books that he authored and that were published by a firm called Akshaena 2007, of which 1/3 is owned by his daughter Maria Dimitrova.

The weekly paper has entitled its article using a word play of Dimitrov’s name and his recent notorious statements after the discovery of the alleged relics of St. John the Baptist in Sozopol, in which he called the Bulgarians and the Bulgarian archaeologists “fucking people.” A rough translation into English of the title of the 168 Chasa article is “Fuckidar Fuckerov”.

Oh my Goddess!

But now, thanks to The Wall Street Journal, the true reason for all of the silly macho-man demonstrations (did you know that "macho" actually has it roots in the words for "stupid goat?"  True!)  Of course, darlings, it comes down to money money money - MONEY!

AUGUST 13, 2010
Bulgaria Looks to John the Baptist to Resurrect Flagging Economy
Archeological Find Promises Fame, Tourists; Questions Remain Over Relics' Authenticity
By JOE PARKINSON

SOZOPOL, Bulgaria—Archaeologists and clerics here say they have unearthed bones belonging to John the Baptist, an itinerant preacher revered by many Christians as the last of the Old Testament prophets.

Bulgaria's government is looking to the discovery for salvation—of a financial sort.

The remains, including a skull fragment and a tooth, were uncovered last month during the excavation of a fourth-century monastery on St. Ivan Island, off Bulgaria's Black Sea coast. They were in a sealed reliquary buried next to a tiny urn inscribed with St. John's name and his birth date.

Officials of this recession-scarred country think the purported relics will give a big boost to tourism, drawing believers from neighboring Orthodox Christian countries to this nearby resort town,

Tens of millions of dollars have already been earmarked to prepare for an anticipated surge in visitors. Construction crews are enlarging the port and building a big new parking lot. Tour guides are being rewritten and new signs are going up to direct people to the relics.

"I'm not religious but these relics are in the premier league," says Simeon Djankov, Bulgaria's finance minister and an avowed atheist. "The revenue potential for Bulgaria is clear."

Bulgaria's Orthodox church hierarchy has declared that the bones are authentic. "This is a holy find. It doesn't matter about the science," says Metropolitan Bishop Joanikii of Sliven, who oversees church affairs in Sozopol. "The holy relics of St. John radiate miraculous force. I cannot explain it by using words."

Kazimir Popkonstantinov, the archaeologist responsible for the finding in Sozopol and now hailed as a national hero, insists his discovery is in the same league as the Shroud of Turin. "This kind of discovery happens perhaps once every two hundred years," he says. "We have very strong proof that this is genuine. I know this is very important for the whole Christian world."

Some experts, however, are skeptical about the origin of the bones—as well as their earnings potential. Michael Hesemann, a religious historian who helps the Vatican date relics, says the bone fragments "appear to be authentic." But he thinks they lack the "box-office draw" of better-known religious attractions such as the Shroud, which believers say is Christ's burial cloth.

For its part, the Roman Catholic church says the matter requires more study. The Vatican's Pontifical Commission of Sacred Archaeology said tests to gauge the age of the bones and other factors would have to be weighed before it could judge their provenance.

News of the find, meanwhile, is already drawing visitors. At the local church of St. George, where the presumed relics are now on temporary display in a silver chest donated by Bulgaria's prime minister, hundreds of faithful line up for a chance to view the bones, mouthing prayers and making the sign of the cross.

The church says attendance at daily mass has jumped from about 100 to more than 3,000. Church officials say they are selling more votive candles in a day now than they used to sell in a year, and have just ordered another two tons of them to meet projected demand.

Bulgaria, the European Union's poorest nation, could use an economic miracle. The country's gross domestic product shrank 5% last year and contracted another 3.6% in the first three months of this year. Manufacturing has languished, and unemployment has climbed.

To help pull Bulgaria out of its worst recession since the collapse of communism here 20 years ago, the government is looking to promote tourism. Touting the relics is part of that plan. Mr. Djankov, the finance minister, says he wants to double government spending on the development of religious tourism so "we can make this history profitable."

Religious pilgrimages are big business globally, according to the World Tourism Organization, which estimates that up to 330 million faithful visit the world's key religious sites every year. Lourdes, the French town where worshippers believe the Virgin Mary appeared in 1858, draws about 5 million visitors annually.

The bones, though, make Bulgaria a member of a not-so-exclusive club of nations that say they are home to pieces of John the Baptist, who was beheaded on the orders of King Herod. Ancient tradition has held that his severed head was entombed in Herod's Jerusalem palace.

Over time, body parts believed to be St. John's have spread across Europe, the Middle East and South Asia. A church in Calcutta, India, claims to house part of a saintly hand.

The cathedral in Aachen, Germany, says it has the cloth used to wrap St. John's head after his decapitation. The Topkapi Palace in Istanbul, former seat of the Ottoman emperors, also claims to hold parts of one of St. John's arms and his head.

The presence of the relics of St. John hasn't translated into a tourist bonanza in any of these other resting places. Still, authorities in Bulgaria remain optimistic.

Orthodox Christians hold John the Baptist, who according to some accounts baptized Jesus, in especially high esteem. Services every Tuesday are dedicated to his memory in Orthodox churches.

There are some encouraging signs. Milenna Dimitrova, who has been selling fresh berries, figs and jams for 20 years from a stall here, says business has been so brisk that she doesn't have time to go to church. "The season was awful before—this is clearly a gift from God," she says.

Still, the hotel business in Sozopol continues to languish. Stanimir Stoyanov, a veteran hotelier who now runs the Hotel Duma, says occupancy is down by about a third since last year. "The government are telling us the town will become the next Jerusalem," he says. "We just hope that they're right."

"Old Europe" Cultures on Display in New York

I've written about some of these cultures before: Varna, Cucuteni and perhaps Hamangia. Overall, it's a good overview article and the images it presents are excellent. I wish I could see this exhibit! Image: Architectural Model With Seven Figurines Fired Clay Cucuteni, Ghelăieşti, 3700-3500 BC Neamţ County Museum Complex, Piatra Neamţ: 12550-12552, 13209-13213 Photo: Marius Amarie Do these look like dudes to you??? One comment I dispute in the article at The New York Times - that the ancient pre-dynatic Egyptians did not have pottery equivalent with thast discovered in Varna and Cuceteni. I have seen with my own eyes at the Met in NYC. I have pictures too - unfortunately stored on my desktop which at the moment is bounced off my wireless network and not connected to the internet, so I cannot download a few examples of that pottery here for comparison. Working on restoring that connection is somewhat low on the list of things to do around here at present! As a general observation, I've also seen excellent examples of the same types of decorations on pottery from the Iranian Plateau that date back c. 6500 years ago on exhibit at the Oriental Institute Museum in Chicago. In addition, I have seen practically pristine examples of carved Egyptian alabaster bowls and vessels so thin that light glows through them that date from late Naqada to Dynasty "Zero." I have yet to see the like of technical excellence and design sophistication replicated by other cultures in the other museums I have visited. So the authorities quoted in the article should not be so quick to dismiss the artisans of pre-dynastic Egypt (and other cultures with which they may not be familiar). I suppose I could make a better case by doing some searches online for images and downloading them, but frankly my time is at a premium these days and I don't want to devote the time right now. Image: Zoomorphic Figures, possibly bulls Gold Varna, Varna, Grave 36, 4400-4200 BC Varna Regional Museum of History: 1633, 1634 Photo: Rumyana Kostadinova Ivanova If these are bulls, where are their testicles and penises? These are cows - females! Reminds me of Het-Hert (Hathor), the horned cow goddess of the pre-dynastic Egyptians. I also take exception to the pot shots taken at Gimbutas' research back in the 1970s. She shed an entirely new light on discovered objects that brought females to the fore - or at least to equality - with males in pre-civilization and early civilizations. It was controversial back then - but much needed - and it remains controversial in some quarters yet today. NOW naysayers are fond of saying "in light of recent discoveries..." and they thus pooh-pooh Gimbutas' interpretations of her findings and her theories, but I also note that these critics rarely actually cite to others' work that contradicts Gimbutas. A lot of sound and fury on their part, signifying nothing, but you know, it's like that old politcal saw - if you throw enough mud for long enough and hard enough, eventually some of it will stick even if it shouldn't. To my mind, that's what these dudes (they are mostly dudes) have attempted to do with Gimbutas' body of work for the past 30 plus years. It seems some people want to turn back the clock to the bad old days. I think Gimbutas' research speaks for itself. One picture, as they say, is worth a thousand words. And she had perhaps thousands of photos of objects in the many books published under her name during the ensuing years - all identified as female or votives to females. It's pretty difficult to say that most of these objects are NOT female or female votives - but hey, some folks keep on giving it the good ol' college try. Anyway - this article demonstrates to me that the folks in charge of our "higher" educational system seriously need to introduce more cross-cultural and cross-disciplinary exposure in what we are teaching the people who will be our future archaeologists, historians and anthropologists. Geez! We still ain't there yet and it's rather sad to say as we are about to begin the second decade in the 21st century! A Lost European Culture, Pulled From Obscurity [not exactly, if you've been reading my blog!] By JOHN NOBLE WILFORD Published: November 30, 2009 Before the glory that was Greece and Rome, even before the first cities of Mesopotamia or temples along the Nile, there lived in the Lower Danube Valley and the Balkan foothills people who were ahead of their time in art, technology and long-distance trade. For 1,500 years, starting earlier than 5000 B.C., they farmed and built sizable towns, a few with as many as 2,000 dwellings. They mastered large-scale copper smelting, the new technology of the age. Their graves held an impressive array of exquisite headdresses and necklaces and, in one cemetery, the earliest major assemblage of gold artifacts to be found anywhere in the world. The striking designs of their pottery speak of the refinement of the culture’s visual language. Until recent discoveries, the most intriguing artifacts were the ubiquitous terracotta “goddess” figurines, originally interpreted as evidence of the spiritual and political power of women in society. [Parallel developments: Indus Valley, Pakistan/northern India; Naqada I, II and III along Nile River; Iranian Plateau settlements] New research, archaeologists and historians say, has broadened understanding of this long overlooked culture, which seemed to have approached the threshold of “civilization” status. Writing had yet to be invented, and so no one knows what the people called themselves. To some scholars, the people and the region are simply Old Europe. Image: Set of Twenty-one Figurines and Thirteen Chairs Fired Clay Cucuteni, Poduri-Dealul Ghindaru, 4900-4750 BC Neamţ County Museum Complex, Piatra Neamţ: 10095-10128, 10703 Photo: Elena-Roxana Munteanu According to the article, these are just "representations" of people (who just happen to be mostly female, perhaps all female). Hmmmm. 21 figures and 13 chairs - sounds like a game to me! The little-known culture is being rescued from obscurity in an exhibition, “The Lost World of Old Europe: the Danube Valley, 5000-3500 B.C.,” which opened last month at the Institute for the Study of the Ancient World at New York University. More than 250 artifacts from museums in Bulgaria, Moldova and Romania are on display for the first time in the United States. The show will run through April 25. At its peak, around 4500 B.C., said David W. Anthony, the exhibition’s guest curator, “Old Europe was among the most sophisticated and technologically advanced places in the world” and was developing “many of the political, technological and ideological signs of civilization.” Dr. Anthony is a professor of anthropology at Hartwick College in Oneonta, N.Y., and author of “The Horse, the Wheel, and Language: How Bronze-Age Riders from the Eurasian Steppes Shaped the Modern World.” Historians suggest that the arrival in southeastern Europe of people from the steppes may have contributed to the collapse of the Old Europe culture by 3500 B.C. At the exhibition preview, Roger S. Bagnall, director of the institute, confessed that until now “a great many archaeologists had not heard of these Old Europe cultures.” Admiring the colorful ceramics, Dr. Bagnall, a specialist in Egyptian archaeology, remarked that at the time “Egyptians were certainly not making pottery like this.” [Not correct] The striking designs of their pottery speak of the refinement of the culture’s visual language. Until recent discoveries, the most intriguing artifacts were the ubiquitous terracotta “goddess” figurines, originally interpreted as evidence of the spiritual and political power of women in society. New research, archaeologists and historians say, has broadened understanding of this long overlooked culture, which seemed to have approached the threshold of “civilization” status. Writing had yet to be invented, and so no one knows what the people called themselves. To some scholars, the people and the region are simply Old Europe. [How arrogant to assume that because a culture did not have writing - at least - not that we have discovered or could understand if we did -- see Indus discussions! -- that the people of these cultures were not "civilized." Nineteenth century baloney still being served up to the general public and future generations of our scholars today.] Rest of article.

Plans to Display Karanovo Thracian Finds

Story at Novinite Bulgaria Archaeologists Present Unique Thracian Tomb Finds November 17, 2009 A team of Bulgarian archaeologists led by Veselin Ignatov formally presented Tuesday their finds from the tomb of an aristocrat from Ancient Thrace near the southern town of Nova Zagora. In October and November 2009, Ignatov’s team found a burial tomb of dated back to the end of 1st century and beginning of 2nd century AD, located outside of the village of Karanovo, in southern Bulgaria. The finds at the lavish Thracian tomb include gold rings, silver cups and vessels coated with gold and clay vessels. Those include two silver cups with images of love god Eros, and a number of other ornate silver and bronze vessels. According to Ignatov, the finds are sufficiently varying and rich to be used for the forming of a small museum dedicated to provincial Roman-era art. The aristocrat belonged to a rich family descended from the ruling strata in the Odrysian Kingdom (5-3rd century BC). The previously unknown tomb was discovered after in 2008 the archaeologists started to research area damaged by treasure hunters, and found a Thracian chariot at a nearby spot. The archaeologists from the Nova Zagora History Museum are going to continue their exploration of the Thracian tomb on the spot even during the coming winter months after a special shelter is built on the site. Ignatov said a total of six two-wheel and four-wheel chariots have been discovered in the region, and that he had the idea of creating a center for the study of ancient chariots in Nova Zagora.

Most Ancient Civilization Started in Bulgaria?

We'll see if more is published on this in the future. I am open to the idea of older civilizations than those in the "Fertile Crescent" (which sort of includes ancient Egypt). Not all of our current assumptions about how everything developed and when it developed are necessarily correct, as we are finding out daily! However, for now, I'm taking this "assertion" (it's not really a report) with a grain of salt. What I do know is that the Varna, Vinca and other cultures in Bulgaria demonstrated a great skill with metallurgy at a very early age. Photo: Varna burial, c. 4600 BCE. Standart News November 3, 2009 Krastina Marinova Most Ancient Civilization Was in Bulgaria An ancient civilization, older than the Egyptian, existed in the lands of the coastal city of Varna, reveals the most recent scientific research of a team of archaeologists in Germany. Vladimir Slavchev from Varna Archaeological museum is part of that team. According to this large-scale study, the most ancient civilization in the world lived in the lands between Mangalia to the north and the Kamchiya River valley to the south. All the following societies imitated the local way of life. The old society from the region near Varna set the beginning to all kingdoms, scientists maintain. The burials of noble men and luxury objects unearthed in the famous Necropolis support that opinion. Over 200 valuable objects, among which are 2,000 golden beads, part of Varna's oldest treasure will be displayed in an exhibition in New York. Where and when will this exhibition be in New York??? More about Varna: Wikipedia

Another Thracian Tomb with Chariot Discovered

From Novinite.com (Some of the vessels uncovered in the new Thracian tomb by the team of archaeologist Veselin Ignatov near Karanova. Photo by Bulphoto) Bulgarian Archaeologists Find Silver Treasure in Thracian Tomb Archaeology November 3, 2009, Tuesday A team of Bulgarian archaeologists have discovered a new tomb of an aristocrat from Ancient Thrace near the southern town of Nova Zagora. The team led by archaeologist Veselin Ignatov found a burial tomb of 12 square meters date back to the end of 1st century and beginning of 2nd century AD. It is located outside of the village of Karanovo. The burial site of the Thracian aristocrat contains a number of interesting items including a silver treasure of vessels and artifacts that were place there to be used by the aristocrat in his afterlife. Those include two silver cups with images of love god Eros, and a number of other ornate silver and bronze vessels. The archaeologists have also found a chariot and fragments of a shield. The expedition called Karanovo 2009-2010 has just started to uncover their new find, and Ignatov expects a lot more valuable items to be discovered. The archaeologists from the Nova Zagora History Museum are going to continue their exploration of the Thracian tomb on the spot even during the coming winter months after a special shelter is built on the site.

Tomb of Bulgarian Princess Discovered

Article from the sofiaecho.com Archeology works in Veliko Turnovo discover a princess Mon, Aug 03 2009 11:27 CET by Nick Iliev (Photo by Nadezhda Chipeva, showing the escarpments of Tsarevets, the seat of medieval Bulgarian monarch) The tomb of a Bulgarian princess was discovered in the northern Bulgarian town of Veliko Turnovo, Bulgaria's medieval capital, the Bulgarian National Radio (BNR) said. Archaeologists Nikolai Ovcharov and Hitko Vachev have excavated on August 2 what has been described as the grave of a Bulgarian princess, buried in the courtyard of the St St Peter and Pavel church in Veliko Tarnovo. According to the two archaeologists, they have concluded that the grave dates back to the 14th century or earlier, sometime after the reign of tsar Ivan Assen II. The princess was found wearing "luxurious clothes trimmed with golden ribbon; excellently crafted jewelry; a golden ring, earrings, silver and golden pins were also found around the buried body", the BNR said. Archaeologists have discovered over 100 artifacts since excavation work commenced two months ago at the St St Peter and Pavel as well as St Ivan Rilski churches in Veliko Turnovo. Most of discovered finds consist of golden jewelry. Once the items are restored, they will exhibited at the town's history museum in autumn 2009.

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Not discussed in the article - why these churchyards are being excavated. Are the churches being renovated? Torn down? Or is something else going on here? This report makes me uneasy. Where does the line end between legitimate archaeological excavations of tombs and crass grave-robbing for treasure trove?

7,000 Year Old Bulgarian Settlement Discovered

Novinite.com July 2, 2009, Thursday Bulgarian archaeologists have discovered a 7 000-years-old settlement close to the northeast city of Shumen. The village dates back to the Stone-Copper Age, and is located in the locality of Chanadzhik, near the village of Sushina and the Ticha Dam. The archaeologists have discovered over 300 finds, most of which are made of marble. "These items are extremely rare. They were worn by very specific people. These are decorations that were not available to the masses. There are also others that are made of clay or bone," explained Stefan Chohadzhiev, an archaeology professor at the Veliko Tarnovo University, as quoted by bTV. The most valuable find of the archaeologists, however, is a fortification that protected the village mound from the west. According to Ivan Babadzhanov, an archaeologist from the Regional History Museum in Shumen, the fortification probably consisted of a stone wall; the items discovered there are Chalcolithic (Copper Age) ceramics.

Intact Thracian Setlement Discovered

Well - it was intact. Now that this article has hit the news (if it hasn't already been looted through leaks of confidential information from the digging team), after all the "hints" given in this article about the dig's location, it sure won't be "intact" for long. How stupid! Story at Novinite.com Bulgarian Archaeologists Uncover Intact Thracian Settlement Culture June 23, 2009, Tuesday A team of Bulgarian archaeologists has uncovered a Thracian settlement close to the southeast town of Nova Zagora. The team of Konstantin Gospodinov and Veselin Ignatov from the city of Burgas hope that their finding would be the first Thracian settlement to be uncovered in its entirety. The settlement is located along the Blatnitsa River. It had a moat around it, and include large buildings rising above the ground, news.dir.bg reported. So far the archaeologists have discovered remains of stored grain, weaving looms, pottery including imported ceramics made by the ancient Greeks. They have also found parts of decorations made of bronze, glass, and bones, as well as alloys of gold, silver, and copper. Among their most precious findings is a silver coin from the nearby Greek coastal town of Apolonia (today's Sozopol) dating back to 5th century BC. The coin is cited an example showing the trade relations between the Thracian-populated interior and the Greek towns along the Black Sea coast. The Thracian settlement in question existed in the 6th-5th century BC.

Golden "Spindle-Shaped" Objects Discovered in Bulgarian Tomb

I'll post the article first and comment later: Amazing Archaeological Discovery in the South of Sakar Mountain Updated on: 20.10.2008, 18:27 Published on: 20.10.2008, 12:17 Author: Diana Stoykova A sensational golden discovery was made in the South of Sakar Mountain by a team of archaeologists under the governance of Ph.D. Borislav Borislavov from Sofia University "Climent Ohridski" and Nadezhda Ivanova - vice-chief (National Institute Of Archaeology And Museum - Bulgarian Academy of Sciences) The excavations were sponsored by the Ministry of Culture through the National History Museum, the sum amounting of 22 000 leva, announced NHM director Bozhidar Dimitrov. The expedition explored a mound in the surroundings of Izvorovo village, Harmanli Municipality. The mound is 31 m in diameter, 2, 9 m in height. Two stages of heaping were determined. The first dates back to the second half of the 2nd millennium B.C. (middle bronze age) and the second - to the 2nd century A.C. (Romanian period) During the Bronze Age a rubble and stamped clay platform was shaped, over which a funeral device was built. It is in fact a mould of quartz with a clay foundation, 8 m in diameter and 2 m in height. At its foundation a crematory funeral was performed. The remains were put in a richly decorated clay pot and dispersed around the stones. At the same level treasures which of extreme importance were found having in mind the period - a golden jewel, consisting of 320 beads: small spherical (2 mm) taking turns with big barley-shaped beads (7 mm), 1, 5 m all, two golden spindle-shaped objects, with a solar decoration, a golden and a silver tile, tied together with a sliver knit, a silver ring and a bronze knife with a stone hone. Golden finds of the same kind have been found only on Crete - these finds, however, outnumber them almost 15 times. Ph.D. Borislavov suspects that it is the mould of a man of utmost importance - a ruler or a high priest. The number and the master's workmanship can be explained by the fact that this region was a major trading road, connecting Asia Minor,the Balkans and Central Europe. These treasures, however, can be the work of a local culture. It is know that Sakar mountain is the home of a mysterious stone culture -the dolmens. The mound was preserved as a cult place, when during the 2nd century A.C. a village was built around it. It is surrounded by a circle of big stone blocks, 22 m in diameter, and heaped by red soil and three levels of stones, which helped its perseverance through the centuries. This discovery is unique not only for Bulgaria and it will shed light on long kept secrets about far forgotten ages. Tomorrow- Tuesday at a press-conference in NHM minister Danailov will personally present the finds to the public. After that they will be exhibited in hall 1 of the National History Museum.

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Okay, first of all, the article (and archaeologists) totally slighted the discovery of TWO SPINDLE-LIKE OBJECTS in this tomb. Now darlings, everyone knows that spindles do not appear in men's tombs; they only appear in women's tombs because they were used - say it all together now - in spinning wool and flax for the weaving of cloth! Duh! Compare the previous posted article about the portion of a stone spindle discovered in Iceland. Second, it is premature, without more to go on, to just assume that the mound was the burial spot of a MAN of "utmost importance" - a ruler or a priest. Why not the tome of a female ruler - or a priestess? The TWO GOLDEN SPINDLE-LIKE OBJECTS would seem to point more toward a female burial than a male burial. In the absence of remains that could be analyzed anatomically - only ashes from a cremation - it is totally presumptive, and unfortunately typical - to assume that the burial was male. Can the ashes be analyzed for male or female DNA? Third, I don't know about you, darlings, but the style of that gold bead necklace found in the mound certainly reminds me of necklaces worn by women and not those worn by men, even in the bad old days! In fact, it has a very modern ambiance to it, doesn't it! I think the archaeologist dudes made a big mistake...

Ancient Board Game Pieces Discovered in Bulgarian Tomb

Story excerpted from Novite.com, Sofia News Agency: Yet Another Ancient Tomb Unearthed in Bulgaria's Sozopol 14 August 2007, Tuesday A team of Bulgarian archaeologists unearthed Tuesday an ancient stone tomb, dated back to the 4th century BC, Darik News reported. The team, lead by Krastina Panayotova, stumbled upon the tomb during the annual archaeological excavations on the Harmani beach of the Black Sea town of Sozopol. A man, probably an athlete, had been buried in the tomb because the team found an object used by athletes in antiquity. Just a day earlier the archaeologists came upon the grave of another man, probably a gambler. The grave was full of dice, backgammon pieces and coins. (Emphasis added). The team of Krastina Panayotova is working on the Harmani beach of Sozopol, a site which archaeologist have been exploring for many years now. Sozopol is one of the oldest towns on Bulgarian Thrace's Black Sea coast. The first settlement on the site dates back to the Bronze Age. ***************************************************************************** I am a study in frustration. A further web search failed to turn up more details about the discovery of the board game pieces the article identified as "backgammon" pieces. There are a number of things we do NOT know from the article, unfortunately, including the exact date of the discovery. All we can deduce is that it was reported in the newspaper on August 14, 2007! We don't know how old the tomb is. Evidently it is quite a large necropolis that is being excavated, but just because one tomb is dated "Hellenic" to c. 400 BCE doesn't mean the team of the "gambler" is from the same era. We don't know how the archaeologist(s) on site arrived at the conclusion that the gaming pieces recovered were "backgammon" pieces. For all we know, they could have been smoothed pebbles used in the Greek game of Polis, or any other petteia game, as no description of the pieces was given and no photograph was provided. The fact that dice - also no description or photograph provided - were found in the same tomb does not necessarily mean that they were related to the gaming pieces. And the reference to coins found in the same tomb is intriguing. Does this imply that the "gambler" was buried with some of his winnings? Or perhaps the coins were meant to be a stake for his future games in Hades/the Afterworld? Or were the "coins" actually tokens from some other kind of board game? For example, ancient Xiang Qi (Chinese Chess) pieces have been mistaken for coins because they were circular, inscribed flat pieces of metal. All I can do at this point is make a note to check in the future to see if I can find published field notes from this excavation (ruts of ruck, Jan!) Arggghhh!