Varna Necropolis
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The Varna Necropolis (Bulgarian: Варненски некропол) 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), Bulgaria.
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[edit] Discovery and excavation
The site was accidentally discovered in October 1972 by excavator operator Raycho Marinov. Research excavation was under the direction of Mihail Lazarov (1972-1976) and Ivan Ivanov (1972-1991) until 1991. About 30% of estimated necropolis area is still not excavated.
294 graves have been found in the necropolis, many containing sophisticated examples of metallurgy (gold and copper).
[edit] Chronology
The graves have been dated to 3500-3200 BC (4600-4200 BC radiocarbon dating) and belong to the Eneolithic Varna culture, which is the local variant of the KGKIV.
[edit] Burial customs
There are crouched and extended inhumations. Some graves do not contain a skeleton, but grave gifts (cenotaphs). Interestingly, the symbolic (empty) graves are the richest in gold artifacts. 3000 gold artifacts were found, with a weight of approximately 6 kilograms. Grave 4 (photo) contained more gold than has been found in the entire rest of the world for that epoch. Three symbolic graves contained masks of unburnt clay.
The findings showed that the Varna culture had trade relations with distant lands, perhaps exporting metal goods and salt from the Provadiya rock salt mine. The copper ore used in the artifacts originated from a Sredna Gora mine near Stara Zagora, and Mediterranean Spondylus shells found in the graves may have served as primitive currency. The culture had developed social hierarchy and sophisticated religious beliefs about afterlife.
[edit] Museum exhibitions
The artifacts can be seen at the Varna Archaeological Museum and at the National Historical Museum in Sofia. In 2006, some gold objects were included in a major and broadly advertised national exhibition of antique gold treasures in both Sofia and Varna.
The gold of Varna started touring the world in 1973; it was included in "The Gold of the Thracian Horseman" national exhibition, shown at many of the world's leading museums and exhibition venues. In 1982, the treasure was exhibited for 7 months in Japan as "The Oldest Gold in the World - The First European Civilization" with massive publicity, including two full length TV documentaries. In the 1980s and 1990s it was also shown in Canada, Germany, France, Italy, and Israel, among others.
[edit] External links
- Varna Archaelogical Museum contains many of the Varna Necropolis artifacts.
- Varna Archaelogical Museum - more photos.
- Varna Necropolis Cultural Tourism page on the Golden Sands Resort web site.
[edit] Bibliography
- Bahn, Paul G. ed. 100 Great Archaeological Discoveries (New York: Barnes & Noble, 1995) (No. 34).
- Bogucki, Peter, Pam J. Crabtree eds. Ancient Europe: an Encyclopedia of the Barbarian World, 8000 B.C. – A.D. 1000 (New York: Scribners, 2004) (p. 341).
- A. Fol/J. Lichardus (eds.). Macht, Herrschaft und Gold: das Graberfeld von Varna (Bulgarien) und die Anfänge einer neuen europäischen Zivilisation. Saarbrücken, Moderne Galerie des Saarland-Museums 1988.
- Ivanov, I., M. Avramova. Varna Necropolis (Sofia, 2000).
