Thanks to the collaboration with the National Archaeological Institute with a museum at the BAS, it will be exhibited in the new exhibition space, presenting the Thracian culture during the Late Bronze and Early Iron Ages.
Message from the National History Museum
Thanks to the collaboration with the National Archaeological Institute with a museum at the BAS, it will be exhibited in the new exhibition space, presenting the Thracian culture during the Late Bronze and Early Iron Ages.
The Valchitran gold treasure was found in 1925 in the village of Valchitran, Pleven region. It was discovered by accident, while digging a vineyard.
It is one of the most magnificent monuments of Thracian culture with a total weight of 12.4 kilograms. It consists of 13 objects: a large and deep bowl with two handles, a large ladle cup with one handle, three small cups (kiatos), seven discs (2 large and 5 small) and one three-piece vessel. The vessels impress with their exceptional elegance despite the simple lines and sparing decoration. All are uniform in artistic style and workmanship, and are of native gold, worked into sheets. It has been suggested that the Valchitran Treasure was probably the possession of a Thracian tribal chieftain.
At first, the discoverers doubted that the objects were made of gold. This led to the decision to cut off some of the lids with vine shears and take the pieces to Pleven, where the material was confirmed to be gold. A jeweler from Pleven informed the National Archaeological Museum in Sofia, and on January 7, 1925, the treasure was taken there, and the cut pieces of it were never found.
An extremely curious fact about the small cups is that the ancient master goldsmiths made them in such a way that they would stand upright only when filled with liquid.