Borovo Treasure Explained
The Borovo Treasure, also known as the Borovo Silver Treasure, is a Thracian[1] [2] hoard of five matching silver-gilt items discovered in late 1974 while ploughing a field in Borovo, Bulgaria.[3] [4]
The treasure is kept in the history museum at Ruse.[1]
Items
The treasure consists of a table set of five silver-gilt items:[1] [2]
- Three rhyta, each a different size, and with a different base. The largest has a figure of a sphinx and bears the inscription: "[Belongs to] Cotys from [the town of] Beos.", as well as the name of the craftsman, Etbeos.[5] The second has a figure of a horse, and the third, the smallest, has a bull. Each are half figures.
- A large, two-handled bowl: This item is decorated with a relief of a deer being attacked by a griffin.[6]
- A rhyta jug with images gods at a feast, scenes showing the mythological cycles, with images of Dionysus and Heracles, satyrs, griffons, and sphinxes.[4]
Discovery
The discovery was made while ploughing a field approximately from the village of Borovo, Ruse, in Bulgaria. Unfortunately, the plow severely damaged objects, but after extensive restoration work, the damage is nearly invisible.[1] [2] [6]
It is unknown why the treasure was buried at that particular site since no tumulus was found at the location.[6]
Origins
The inscription on the sphinx rhyta indicates that the treasure may have been a gift to a local Getic ruler from the king Cotys I (382-359 BC),[4] who reigned in the Odrysian Kingdom from 383 to 359 BC.[6] It is for this reason that the treasure is considered to be from the early to mid fourth century BC.[1] [2] [4] [6]
See also
Other Thracian treasures:
Further reading
- Venedikov . Ivan . Ivan Venedikov . The Archaeological Wealth of Ancient Thrace . The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin . 35 . 1 . 1977 . 3258668 . 7–71 . via- Met Publications
- Book: Treasure found at the village of Borovo (Rousse District); First Half of the Fourth Century B.C., District Museum of History, Rousse . Thracian Treasures from Bulgaria: Checklist of The Special Exhibition, June 11 - September 4, 1977, coordinated by Dietrich von Bothmer, items 288-292 . Metropolitan Museum of Art . 1977 . New York . Digital Collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art . 24 June 2018 . 6 July 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180706170229/http://libmma.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/pageflip/collection/p15324coll10/id/199423/type/compoundobject/show/199379/cpdtype/document/pftype/image#page/12/mode/2up . dead .
- Eisenberg . Jerome M. . The Wealth of the Thracians: A Spectacular Exhibitions of Thracian Treasures Travelling America . The International Review of Ancient Art & Archaeology - MINERVA . January 1998 . 9 . 1. 16 . 24 June 2018.
- Book: Valeva, Julia. Chapter 14: Gold, Silver and Bronze Vessels. A Companion to Ancient Thrace . Valeva, Julia . Nankov, Emil . Graninger, Denver. Hoboken. John Wiley & Sons. 2015. 198, 201-202, 204.
Notes and References
- Web site: Borovo Treasure - Landmarks/Treasures - BulgariaInside.com . Bulgariainside.eu . 2010-03-24 . 2011-08-31 . 2017-02-11 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170211155938/http://www.bulgariainside.eu/en/articles/Borovo-Treasure/245/index.html . dead .
- Web site: The Borovo silver treasure | Ancient Treasures, Ancient Thracians . Ancient-treasure.info . 2011-08-31.
- Book: Ovcharov, Dimiter . The Borovo Treasure: A Feast Eating or Sacrificial Set . Fifteen Treasures from Bulgarian Lands . Pencheva, Maya . Bulgarian Bestseller, National Museum of Books and Polygraphy . Sofia . 49 . 2005 .
- Web site: Bulgaria's Thracian Heritage - The Borovo Treasure . Omda.bg . 2011-08-31 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110918190951/http://www.omda.bg/engl/history/borovo_treasure.htm . 2011-09-18 .
- Book: Marazov . Ivan . Fol . Alexander . Thrace and the Thracians . St. Martin’s Press . New York . 1977 . 79, 81 . Internet Archive . 21 June 2018 .
- Web site: Borovo Treasure . Heritage Key . 2011-08-31 . https://archive.today/20101126033138/http://heritage-key.com/world/borovo-treasure . 2010-11-26 . dead .
