ARCHAEOLOGISTS FIND THRACIAN BOUNTY

[ 18 August 2005 ]

An ancient haul of more than 15,000 golden pieces has been unearthed by Bulgarian archaeologists near the town of Dabene. The jewellery belonged to the Thracian royal family and dates back to the third millennium BC, according to Agence France-Presse.

"The golden objects unearthed near the village of Dabene in central Bulgaria are not just pieces of Thracian jewellery. They are objects of exquisite regal ornamentation," director of the National Historical Museum Bozhidar Dimitrovhe told AFP. "In the whole of Europe and the Near East there is only one find that rivals these extremely well-crafted pieces - the golden treasures found in ancient Troy."

Bulgaria is littered with varied treasures, prehistoric cave drawings and Thracian burial mounds filled with golden artifacts. Frescoed Roman baths and amphitheaters, Orthodox monasteries, and 19th-century National Revival architecture dot this ancient landscape.