"The oldest golden treasure in the world”

The oldest golden treasure in the world excavated only in 1972, has not been found in Mesopotamia or Egypt, the earliest written civilizations in human history. To everyone's surprise, it was discovered in northeastern Bulgaria, near the attractive, modern city of Varna and is more than 6,000 years old.

It was found in the Chalcolithic necropolis in Varna. It dates back to the end of the 5th - beginning of the 4th millennium BC. The Varna Gold finds are considered to be the oldest technologically processed gold in Europe and the world.

Assigned to the so-called Cultural Varna (4400 - 4100 BC). 294 tombs from the Chalcolithic (Eneolithic) have been discovered. It has been excavated and studied for 15 years by Archaeologist Ivan Ivanov. Several graves are distinguished by exceptional finds of gold objects. This fact shows that in this early era of mastering metalworking, the Balkans already had the beginnings of state formation and the emergence of the royal institution. 850 gold items were found: tiara, earrings, necklace, breastplate, bracelets, belt, gold hammer, scepter, gold boomerang or sickle pattern, two gold plates representing animal figurines, 30 stylized horned animal heads, gold astragalus (ashik). The so-called symbolic burials of a king-priest who is a magician-blacksmith.

The objects were covered with a gold-woven blanket, decorated at the ends with gold appliques in the form of ram's or goat's horns. Tools are laid - awl and chisel. It also contains clay "masks" of human faces, whose elements are marked with gold - eyes, mouth, teeth and nose. The "faces" are richly decorated with tiaras, earrings, necklaces, and the whole face is covered with a gold-woven veil decorated with small gold beads.

These symbolic burials are considered "female" and are interpreted as an image of the Mother Goddess. It is probably a ritual of "sacred marriage" between the king and the mother goddess. These 6 symbolic tombs are the core of the Chalcolithic necropolis and were probably laid at the beginning of its existence. The symbolism explains the role of the blacksmith in the process of transformation - the ore turns into metal and the metal into an object (weapons, ornaments). It is the mediator between the two worlds, namely nature - culture. Therefore, it is believed that the role of the blacksmith is closely related to the sacred sphere, because myths say that metals originate from other worlds (water, cave) and only the blacksmith has access to them. He is the one who is familiar with the secret and is responsible for its protection. He was even worshiped as a god (a Thracian tribe worships the fallen Hephaestus as such).

The found gold is a real sensation. The finds are known all over the world as the "Treasure of the Varna Chalcolithic Necropolis", and the civilization to which it belonged is "Cultural Varna". This is the largest amount of processed gold since the 5th millennium BC. worldwide. 7,500 square meters were excavated and 294 graves with over 3,000 gold ornaments with a total weight of over 6.5 kg were found in them. This is the Late Stone Age. Until the discovery of the treasure, it was believed that the first metal processed by man was copper, but after these discoveries it turns out that gold was actually used with copper and has been a symbol of power and might since ancient times.

One of the latest studies shows that the Varna treasure is the first evidence of human thought on our planet. As incredible as it sounds, the civilization that lived in our lands knew the golden ratio Phi and the number Pi. Two golden bulls of different sizes were found in one of the many graves. The smaller bull has 45 points, and the larger one has 56. These numbers, multiplied by the height of the larger one, which is 58.17 mm, give the height of the great Pyramid of Cheops - 146.5 m. 

 

Posted by Silvia Serra