Panagyurishte Treasure Explained

Panagyurishte Treasure
Material:	gold
Created:	400 BC – 300 BC
Discovered:	1949 at Panagyurishte
Location:	Regional Archaeological Museum, Plovdiv

The Panagyurishte Treasure (Bulgarian: Панагюрско златно съкровище) is a Thracian treasure.^[1]

Description

The treasure consists of a phiale, an amphora, three oinochoai and four rhytons with total weight of 6.164 kg of 24-karat gold.^{[2] [3]} All nine vessels are richly and skilfully decorated.^[4] It is dated from the turn of the 4th-3rd centuries BC. It is thought to have been used as a royal ceremonial set by the Thracian king Seuthes III.^{[5] [6]}

The items may have been buried to hide them during 4th century BC invasions of the area by the Celts or Macedonians.^[7] The phiale carries inscriptions giving its weight in Greek drachmae and Persian darics.^[8]

Discovery

It was accidentally discovered on 8 December 1949 by three brothers, Pavel, Petko, and Michail Deikov, who worked together at the region of “Merul” tile factory near the railway station of the town of Panagyurishte, Bulgaria.^[9] At the time of its discovery it was considered "the richest treasure to have been unearthed in Europe since World War II.".

Exhibitions around the world and replicas

As one of the best known surviving artefacts of Thracian culture, the treasure has been displayed at various museums around the world.^{[10] [4] [11] [12] [13]} The treasure is the centerpiece of the Thracian art collection of the Plovdiv Regional Historical Museum, the National Museum of History in Sofia, and the History Museum in Panagyurishte. There are three replica sets, which are displayed in the museums in Panagyurishte, Sofia and Plovdiv, when the authentic treasure is lent for exhibitions abroad.^[14]

See also

• Rogozen Treasure
• Valchitran Treasure
• Lukovit Treasure
• Borovo Treasure

Selected bibliography

• • Book: Venedikov, Ivan. Ivan Venedikov. Panagyurskoto sukroviste . Bulgarski Hudozhnik. Sofia. 1961.
• von Bothmer . Dietrich. Dietrich von Bothmer . A Gold Libation Bowl. The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin. December 1962 . 154–166 . 21 . 4 . 10.2307/3257939. 3257939 .
  • Corbett . P.E. . Reviewed Work: Venedikov, (I.) "The Panagyurishte Gold Treasure" Sofia: "Bulgarski Houdozhnik" Publishing House, 1961, Pp. 29, 39 plates. 14 figures . The Journal of Hellenic Studies . 84 . 229–231 . 1964 . 10.2307/627788 . 627788 .
• Book: Strong, Donald Emrys . Greek and Roman Gold and Silver Plate . Methuen & Co. Ltd. . London. 1966 . 97, 102.
• Griffith . John G. . The Siege Scene on the Gold Amphora of the Panagjurischte Treasure . Journal of Hellenic Studies . 630418. 94. 1974 . 38–49 . 10.2307/630418 .
• Book: Hoddinott, Ralph F. . Bulgaria in Antiquity: An Archaeological Introduction . Ernest Benn Limited . London, Tonbridge . 1975 . 85, 89 .
• Moorey . P. R. S . Roger Moorey . Thracian Treasures . The Burlington Magazine. 118 . 876 . March 1976 . 179–174 . 878327 .
• Book: Marazov . Ivan . Fol . Alexander . Thrace and the Thracians . St. Martin’s Press . New York . 1977 . 22, 60, 66, 69, 75, 79, 81–85, 100, 111, 153 . Internet Archive . 8 June 2018 .
• Venedikov . Ivan . Ivan Venedikov . The Archaeological Wealth of Ancient Thrace . The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin . 35 . 1 . 1977 . 3258668 . 39 (color plates 9–14) . 10.2307/3258668 . via- Met Publications
• Kramer . Hilton . Hilton Kramer. Glory of Thrace Shines at MET . The New York Times . June 10, 1977 . 54 . 1 June 2018 .
• Book: The Panagyurishte treasure, Turn of the Fourth and Third Century B.C., Archaeological Museum, Plovdiv, items 361-369 . Thracian Treasures from Bulgaria: Checklist of The Special Exhibition, June 11- September 4, 1977, coordinated by Dietrich von Bothmer . Metropolitan Museum of Art . 1977 . New York . Digital Collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art . 25 June 2018.
• Book: Vickers, Michael . Panagyurishte, Dalboki, Lukovit and Rogozen: Questions of Metrology and Status . The Rogozen Treasure: Papers of the Anglo-Bulgarian Conference 12 March 1987 . Cook, B. F. . London . British Museum Publications . 1989 . 33–37 .
• Moonan . Wendy . ANTIQUES; Rediscovering 'Lost' Culture Of Thrace . The New York Times . May 22, 1998 . 3 June 2018 .
• Rotroff. Susan I. . Thracian Glitter: A dazzling display of ancient art . Archaeology . 51. 4. July–August 1998 . 64–67. Archaeology Archive . 3 June 2018 .
• Book: Marazov, Ivan . Fol, Alexander. Alexander Fol . Ancient gold: The Wealth of the Thracians: Treasures from the Republic of Bulgaria . Harry N. Abrams, in Association with the Trust for Museum Exhibitions, in Cooperation with the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Bulgaria . New York. 1998. 145–148 .
• Book: Archibald, Zosia H. . The Odrysian kingdom of Thrace: Orpheus unmasked . Clarendon and Oxford University Press. Oxford, New York . 1998 . 271–272, 328.
• Book: Kitov, Georgi . Georgi Kitov. The Panagyurishte Treasure . Slavena Publishing House. Varna . 2003 .
• Book: Fanthrope, Lionel . Fanthorpe, Patricia . Secrets of the World's Undiscovered Treasures . Dundurn . Toronto, Ontario. 2009 . 72.
• Guzzo . Pier Giovanni . Spatafora . Francesca. Vassalo. Stefano . Una phiale d'oro iscritta dall'entroterra di Himera /An inscribed golden phial from the hinterland of Himera: from Sicily to New York and back. Mélanges de l'École française de Rome: Antiquité . 2010 . 122–2 . 451–477 . 10.4000/mefra.303 .
• Book: Chary, Frederick B. . Frederick B. Chary . The Greenwood Histories of the Modern Nations: THE HISTORY OF BULGARIA . Greenwood, An Imprint of ABC-Clio, LLC . Santa Barbara, CA; Denver, CO; Oxford, England . 2011 . 1, 145.
• Ovadiah . Asher . A New Look at the Mythological Representation of the Panagyurishte Gold Treasure, Bulgaria . Gerión . 2014 . 27 June 2018 . 32 . 137–155.
• 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. 202–203.
• Book: Holt, Frank Lee . Frank Lee Holt . The Treasures of Alexander the Great: How One Man's Wealth Shaped the World . 2016 . Oxford University Press . 47.

External links

• Panagyurishte Treasure
• The Panagyurishte Golden TreasureEnglish
• The Panagyurishte Treasure at the Plovdiv Archaeological MuseumEnglish

Notes and References

1. Book: Crampton, R. J. . A Concise History of Bulgaria . limited . 2005. 2nd . Cambridge University Press . Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, São Paolo . 1.
2. Book: Venedikov, Ivan . Ivan Venedikov. Thracian Art in Bulgaria; Translated by Marguerite Alexieva . Sofia . Sofia Press . 1968 . 52–60.
3. Book: Кратка българска енциклопедия (ОПЕРЕ-СТРОЙ) . Панагюрско съкровище . 61. IV . 1967 . Издателство на Българска академия на науките . София .
4. Book: Thracian Treasures from Bulgaria; Introduction by Lionel Casson; Essay by Ivan Venedikov; Photographs by Lee Boltin; Design by Irwin Glusker with Christian von Rosenvinge and Eloise Vega . The Metropolitan Museum of Art . 1977 . New York . 41–53, 61 . registration . 23 February 2018 . Internet Archive.
5. The nine sensational gold vessels were initially announced as "vessels from which Alexander the Great may have drunk". See Illustrated London News of December 11th, 1954, pp. 1056-1057.
6. Book: Ovcharov, Dimiter . The Panagyurishte Treasure: The Shine of Thracian Royal Gold . Fifteen Treasures from Bulgarian Lands . Pencheva, Maya . 2003 . Sofia . Bulgarian Bestseller, National Museum of Bulgarian Books and Polygraphy . 47.
7. Book: Fanthrope, Lionel . Fanthorpe, Patricia . Secrets of the World’s Undiscovered Treasures . Dundurn . Toronto, Ontario. 2009 . 72.
8. Book: Thracian Treasures from Bulgaria: Checklist of The Special Exhibition, June 11- September 4, 1977, coordinated by Dietrich von Bothmer, item 362 . Metropolitan Museum of Art . 1977 . New York . Digital Collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art . 1 June 2018.
9. Book: Kitov, Georgi . Georgi Kitov. The Panagyurishte Treasure . Slavena Publishing House. Varna . 2003 . 6–9.
10. Daumas . Michèle . L'amphore de Panaguriŝté et les sept contre Thèbes . Antike Kunst . 1978 . 21 . 1 . 23 . 41320682 .
11. See Book: Thracian Treasures from Bulgaria; 12 May - 1 July, 1979, Nagoya City Museum . Tokyo . 1979 . The Chunichi Shimbun, The Tokyo Shimbun. 53–57 .
12. 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. 17. 22 June 2018.
13. Book: Kitov, Georgi . Georgi Kitov. The Panagyurishte Treasure . Slavena Publishing House. Varna . 2003 . 46–47.
14. Web site: Ince . Kit . Top 10 Things To Do In Sofia + Tourist's Survival Guide . 10Brutes . 10Brutes . 13 August 2019.