RuinscapeLost places of Earth All 216 entries

No. 65

Varna Necropolis

On land Europe
A tomb from the Varna necropolis (Bulgaria), circa 4600 BC, with the world's oldest gold jewellery yet discovered.
Yelkrokoyade, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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Where
Bulgaria
Built by
Copper Age people
Era
4600 BCE
Known for
The oldest worked gold treasure yet found.
How it ended
The culture vanished around 4100 BCE, possibly from climate change and migration.
Varna necropolis, grave offerings on exhibit at the Varna Museum
ChernorizetsHrabar, CC BY-SA 4.0
Clay anthropomorphic head, Late Chalcolithic period, 4500-4000 BCE, Hamangia Culture, found submerged in Varna Lake, Varna Archeology Museum
ChernorizetsHrabar, CC BY-SA 4.0
Bijoux exposés au musée archéologique de Varna (Bulgarie) et qui sont les plus vieux objets en or connus à ce jour (-4600 avant J.C)
Yelkrokoyade, CC BY-SA 3.0
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Background

The Varna Necropolis (Bulgarian: Варненски некропол), or Varna Cemetery, is a burial site in the western industrial zone of Varna (approximately half a kilometre from Lake Varna and 4 km from the city centre), internationally considered one of the key archaeological sites in world prehistory. The oldest gold treasure and jewelry in the world, dating from 4600 BC to 4200 BC, was discovered at the site. Several prehistoric Bulgarian finds are considered no less old – the golden treasures of Hotnitsa, Durankulak, artifacts from the Kurgan settlement of Yunatsite near Pazardzhik, the golden treasure Sakar, as well as beads and gold jewelry found in the Kurgan settlement of Provadia – Solnitsata (“salt pit”). However, Varna gold is most often called the oldest since this treasure is the largest and most diverse.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.