Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com.
 |
Source: See ArchaeologyInBulgaria link below.
|
What is the oldest gold treasure ever discovered? There are a few candidates but one is the consensus winner. Others could arguably be a bit older, but the Varna Chalcolithic treasure is often considered the oldest because of its size and representative nature as well as it's age.
The world’s oldest gold processed by humans, the world’s oldest gold treasure, and the world’s oldest gold artifacts have been discovered in Bulgaria.
They date back to the period between 4,500 BC and 4,000 BC, i.e. the second half of the 5th millennium BC (so they are between 6,500 and 6,000 years old)….
They are the work of the people of Europe's first human civilization, which developed in the Neolithic and Chalcolithic, roughly 8,000 to 6,000 years ago, in Bulgaria and other parts of the Balkan Peninsula (Southeast Europe), along the Lower Danube and the Western Black Sea coast as well as further inland, in the valleys and gorges of the Balkans.
There are six very good candidates, but one is considered the oldest even though it might not technically be proven the oldest in the end. It is the Varna treasure shown at the top of this post and below.
 |
Varna Treasure.
Source: ArchaeologyInBulgaria link shown below.
|
Discovered in: 1972, by accident
Discovery Site: Varna Chalcolithic Necropolis, Black Sea city of Varna on Bulgaria’s Northern Black Sea coast
Dating: 4,560-4,450 BC (three graves outside the necropolis dated closer to 5,000 BC)
Consists of: Over 3,000 gold artifacts
Combined total weight: 6.5 kilograms
For the article containing additional information, including the other leading candidates, use this link.
---
 |
The 16 Byzantine gold coins discovered in the ruins of ancient Marcianopolis, a very substantial Roman city in today’s Northeast Bulgaria. Photo: Devnya Ancient and Modern Facebook Page,
Source: See ArchaeologyInBulgaria link below.
|
A Byzantine gold treasure from the 5th century BC, i.e. the early period of the Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantium), consisting of a hoard of gold coins of Emperor Theodosius II which were probably hidden when the major Roman city of Marcianopolis (Marcianople) was destroyed by Attila’s Huns, has been found by archaeologists in Devnya, Northeast Bulgaria.
The newly discovered gold coin hoard consists for the time being of 14 coins featuring the image Emperor Theodosius II (r. 408 – 450 AD), one featuring his wife Aelia Eudocia, and one featuring his first cousin, Emperor Valentian III, Emperor of the Western Roman Empire from 425 until 455 AD, shortly before its collapse...
“On the fourth day [of digging there], we came across the first part of the coin hoard, which consisted of 10 gold coins, solidi of Emperor Theodosius II, and also ten bronze coins of the same emperor," the lead archaeologist elaborates.
“Emperor Theodosius II ruled [the Eastern Roman Empire] from 408 until 450 AD, and this coin hoard was most probably lost during the Hun invasion [of 447 AD] when the city of Marcianople was destroyed," he adds.
---
 |
Copper Ingots From Bronze Age Shipwreck.
Source: See ArchaeologyInBulgaria link below.
|
… The discovery and characteristics of the disc-like Late Bronze Age copper ingots found on Bulgaria’s Black Sea coast at Maslen Nos was presented in Bulgaria’s Burgas by archaeologist Miroslav Klasnakov in February 2020.
“Analogous to similar finds from explored shipwrecks at the capes of Gelidonya and Uluburun in Turkey, the “copper cakes" from the Bulgarian Black Sea coast are also dated to the Late Bronze Age," Klasnakov was cited as saying.
“Unlike the ingots [of the same period], which are shaped like a stretched-out ox skin, found in [the interior] of today’s Bulgaria, however, relatively far to the west of the sea coast, these ones [from Maslen Nos] have a disc-like shape, and are found only beneath water," the archaeologist explains...
---
When you think of treasure, you might not think of Bulgaria, but it has more than its fair share, including some of the oldest processed gold artifacts in the world.
I was going to do the first story, but the ArchaeologyInBulgaria web site had so many great articles that I thought I'd just stick with it until the Treasure Coast beaches reopen this morning.
---
It seems like the Information Age has turned into the Disinformation Age. You have to intelligently sift through a lot of noise to find the few gems of information.
---
The Indian River and St. Lucie beaches are expected to open at around 7 AM this morning.
The Treasure Coast surf won't be big and neither are the tides, but it will be nice to get some sand between the toes again.
Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net