6,600 year-old golden pendant found in prehistoric Bulgarian settlement

1/7. A gold pendant (pictured) discovered on the site of a prehistoric civilisation may have been made up to 6,600 years ago, making it one of the oldest pieces of gold jewellery ever discovered. The two gram piece of jewellery is made from 24 carat gold and may have been worn on a piece of cord

The necropolis at Solnitsata, which means 'Salt Pit', is situated just to the north of the Bulgarian city of Provadia.

It is famous for its two-storey houses and its heavily-walled fortress, thought to date back to about 4,300 BC.

However, the gold pendant could be even 200 or 300 years older than that, according to Professor Vassil Nikolov from Bulgaria's National Institute of Archaeology, the researcher who led the team behind the discovery. [...] Daily Mail Online


Entrada relacionada (2012)


Actualización: Hallan en Bulgaria la primera joya de oro del mundo - RT
Un grupo de arqueólogos ha encontrado lo que probablemente sea la pieza de joyería de oro más antigua del mundo. El objeto, de 24 quilates y solo dos gramos, fue desenterrado en un poblado prehistórico de Bulgaria.

La joya de 24 quilates fue hallada durante unas excavaciones en el poblado prehistórico de Solnitsata, Bulgaria. El hecho de que la pieza fuera hallada en el pueblo más antiguo del mundo la convierte en única: los expertos creen que podría tener alrededor de 6.600 años, informa 'Daily Mail'.

Los investigadores opinan que los habitantes de ese poblado pudieron haber sido los primeros en aprender a trabajar el oro. De acuerdo con los arqueólogos, tanto mujeres como hombres podrían haber usado la pieza como señal de alto nivel social.

El jefe de la investigación, Vassil Nikolov, destaca que el adorno no fue hallado dentro de una tumba, sino entre ellas, algo que podría sugerir la existencia de algún ritual religioso. Según explica Nikolov, todo el norte de Bulgaria pudo estar poblado por sociedades prehistóricas complejas.


Actualización 2016: Archaeologists Discover 6,500-Year-Old Gold Jewels in Solnitsata – Archaeology in Bulgaria

2/8. A member of the archaeological team shows one of the newly discovered gold jewels from the Salt Pit settlement near Bulgaria’s Provadiya. Photo: TV grab from bTV

Several roughly 6,500-year-old gold artifacts have been discovered by archaeologists together with numerous other finds during the 2016 excavations of the Solnitsata (i.e. “The Salt Pit") prehistoric settlement, which has been dubbed “Europe’s oldest prehistoric town“, located near Provadiya in Northeast Bulgaria.

More specifically, the newly found gold items date back to the period between 4,500 and 4,200 BC, lead archaeologist Prof. Vasil Nikolov from the National Institute and Museum of Archaeology in Sofia, has announced, as cited by local news site Darik News Varna.

The archaeological excavations of the prehistoric town “Provadiya – Solnitsata” made international headlines a year ago, in September 2015, with the discovery of a 6,300-year-old gold jewel.

Just recently, in September 2016, Nikolov announced the discovery of a roughly 6,400-year-old water well where the archaeological team had reached water at a depth of 8 meters.

However, the fact that more gold jewels have been discovered during the ongoing digs has been revealed only now, during a visit of Bulgaria’s Minister of Culture Vezhdi Rashidov to the archaeological site of the Provadiya – Solnitsata prehistoric town...