Varna Gold: Ancient Jewelry & Cemetery Discovery
News Context
At a glance
- In the fall of 1972, workers in the coastal Bulgarian city of Varna accidentally stumbled upon an ancient cemetery filled with treasure.
- Over a 20-year period of excavations, archaeologists recovered gold objects from 62 of the around 300 graves in the Varna cemetery.
- The man in Grave 43, who may have been a metalsmith, was buried with a variety of gold artifacts, including beaded gold necklaces, bangles, earrings and pendants; small,...
QUICK FACTS
Name: Varna Gold
What it is: A collection of gold artifacts
Where it is from: Varna, Bulgaria
When it was made: Circa 4600 B.C.
In the fall of 1972, workers in the coastal Bulgarian city of Varna accidentally stumbled upon an ancient cemetery filled with treasure. The burial ground contained more than 3,000 gold artifacts that date to between 4600 and 4300 B.C.,making them the oldest gold artifacts in the world.
The man in Grave 43, who may have been a metalsmith, was buried with a variety of gold artifacts, including beaded gold necklaces, bangles, earrings and pendants; small, gold discs that were once attached to his clothes; an ax with a gold-wrapped handle; as well as a gold penis sheath.