Accidental Archaeological Discoveries

Priceless Ancient Artifacts Found by Chance in Bulgaria

Nov 1, 2009

The most famous treasure finds usually tell at least two intriguing stories - one of their own and the other of their discovery.

Some of the most famous ancient relics were discovered after years of persistent archaeological research, just like the tomb of Tutankhamun excavated by Howard Carter. Other ones, for example the Scrolls of Qumran and Machu Picchu, were found by chance or thanks to misunderstanding. Most of Bulgaria’s remarkable gold and silver treasures, which the country is renowned for, were also discovered by accident.

Vulchitrun Treasure – Bulgaria’s Tutankhamun

The Vulchitrun gold treasure was unearthed on December 28, 1924 by two brothers while plowing their farmland four kilometers from the village of Vulchitrun in Northern Bulgaria. At a depth of 40 sm., both of the men chanced upon a vast amount of gold objects. They divided the items equally between themselves and each of the brothers began to sell the finds either intact or smashed to pieces.

The living standards of the two fortunate men have improved but a goldsmith gave them away. They were immediately arrested by the police and the pieces of the leftover gold hoard were confiscated. Only 13 objects were remained: one large deep vessel, one big cup and three smaller ones, two big discs and five small ones. They were all made of solid gold and weighed a total of 12.425 kilos. The artifacts were dated back to the 13th – 12th century BC.

The police informed the head of the National Museum of History in Sofia, Prof. Bogdan Filov (Prime Minister of Bulgaria 1940 – 1943), who sent at once a museum curator to take the artifacts. The curator, Dr. Ivan Velkov, took the priceless relics, put them into a rucksack and got on the train to the capital, the city of Sofia. “He was on his own and single-handedly carried out the rescue mission”, says Ivan Hristov Ph.D., a currant deputy head of the National Museum. Strongly influenced by the world’s most spectacular discovery, made by Howard Carter two years earlier (1922), national media called the Vulchitrun treasure “Bulgaria’s Tutankhamun”.

Rogozen Treasure – the Archaeological Find of the Century

The Rogozen silver treasure was called “the archaeological find of the 20th century in Bulgaria” because it is the biggest treasure found so far in the country – including 108 phials, 54 jugs and 3 goblets, that together amount to 20 kilos. All the vessels were made of silver and some of them were decorated with gold. The relics were dated back to the 5th – 4th century BC. Historians assumed that some of the items had been imported into Thrace but most of the vessels had been made by Thracian artisans in local workshops.

The Rogozen treasure was discovered in the fall of 1985 by chance. A tractor operator was excavating a trench for a water-supply system in his garden in the village of Rogozen, Northern Bulgaria, when he struck a collection of 65 silver objects. A couple of months later, archaeologists from a local museum excavated the rest of the hoard in a nearby trench.

Dabene Treasure and the Ancient Gold Trade

The Dabene gold hoard “matches the magnificent trove of jewels unearthed at Troy in 1873 by the retired German merchant Heinrich Schliemann”, Bulgarian archaeologists say, and add that “it is a bit older than Schliemann’s finds and contains many more golden ornaments”. It consists of about 20 000 items made of solid gold and dated back to the 3rd millennium BC.

This treasure was also discovered thanks to luck. In 2004, a team of young archaeologists were exploring an ancient Roman military camp near the town of Sopot. One day, two of them went to a shop to buy a packet of cigarettes. They noticed the shop assistant wearing a necklace reminding them of ancient gold. She explained that her husband excavated it while he was plowing a farm near the village of Dabene. Later, the man showed them the place.

So, the archaeological team moved to Dabene site and began to dig. Some European scientists maintained a close watch on the excavations because “the discovery of Bronze Age gold at Dabene is of great international importance” and should tell historians “more about the gold trade in the ancient world”, said Dr Zosia Archibald of Liverpool University, quoted by The Independent.

Ancient Hoard of Royal Gold Found in Balkans, by David Keys, The Independent, August 21, 2005

Bulgaria Unearths Huge Hoard of Gold, by Helena Smith, The Guardian, August 18, 2005

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