Thracian gold

About Thracian gold

By the ULTIMATE Sofia Editorial Team

Editor-in-Chief: Jai Michael

Long before the Bulgarians, the lands of today’s Bulgaria belonged to the Thracians, a people of horsemen and warriors described by Herodotus as one of the most numerous in the world. They left no written language, but they left gold: treasures of astonishing craftsmanship that are among the great sights of Sofia’s museums.

The Thracians

The Thracians lived across the eastern Balkans from the second millennium BC, organised in tribes and kingdoms. Their kings were buried in tombs under great mounds, some painted with frescoes, such as the tomb at Kazanlak, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The Panagyurishte treasure

In 1949, three brothers digging clay near Panagyurishte found nine vessels of pure gold, rhytons shaped as animal heads, a phiale and an amphora, weighing over six kilograms and made around the 4th to 3rd century BC. It is one of the finest treasures of the ancient world.

The oldest worked gold in the world was found in Bulgaria.

Varna: the oldest gold

At Varna on the Black Sea coast, a necropolis excavated from 1972 yielded gold objects more than six thousand years old, the oldest worked gold yet found anywhere.

Where to see it

The National History Museum and the National Archaeological Museum in Sofia display Thracian treasures, though the most famous pieces often travel to exhibitions abroad, so check before you go.

Our advice: visit the National Archaeological Museum in the centre and the National History Museum in Boyana, combined with Boyana Church. If you travel to Kazanlak, see the Valley of the Thracian Kings.

Opening hours, prices and seasonal openings change, so please check with Thracian gold before you go.