Panagyurishte celebrates 75 years since the discovery of Thracian gold treasure

On December 8, the town of Panagyurishte celebrates 75 years since the discovery of the Panagyurishte Gold Treasure - one of the most significant finds from Ancient Thrace.

The gold vessels were discovered in the Merul locality on December 8, 1949 by the three brothers Pavel, Petko, and Mihail Deikov.

The celebrations in the town started from the locality, where there is a memorial plaque.

The patron of the celebrations is Vice President, Iliana Iotova.

The official ceremony was attended by the newly elected Speaker of the Parlaiment, Assoc. Prof, Nataliya Kiselova and the caretaker Minister of Tourism, Evtim Miloshev.

The original of Panagyurishte Gold Treasure returns to Panagyurishte Museum

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The Panagyurishte gold treasure is by far the rischest and most brilliant gold hoard discovered, which was unearthed by accident by three brothers on December 8, 1949, during clay digging near the town of Panagyurishte, central Bulgaria.

It consists of nine solid gold vessels (a phiale, an amphora and seven rhytons) with total weight of 6.164 kg of 23-karat gold. All of the objects are richly and skilfully decorated with scenes of Thracian myths, customs and life.

The decoration features scenes from ancient Greek mythology, depicting a number of deities and heroes - Hera, Athena, Aphrodite, Apollo, Artemis, Dionysus, Silenus, Nike, Heracles, Theseus, Paris, the Bacchante Eriope. There are images of winged sphinxes and Amazons. The phiale of the treasure is decorated with African heads.