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The Panagyurishte Golden
Treasure is a rare archaeological monument from the Hellenistic
Age and one of the symbols of the Panagyurishte
region.
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The
Panagyurishte Treasure
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It was found near the Mramor hillock in 1949 during agricultural
work. It consists of nine richly adorned
vessels - an amphora, seven rhytons and a phial. It
weighs 6.164 kg.
The largest vessel is the
amphora, which has a centaur-shaped handle. Three of the seven
rhytons are shaped as animals' heads, one is the front part of a
goat, three have women's (Amazon) heads. The
set most probably served for the drinking of wine in a religious,
celebratory or domestic atmosphere. There is also an opinion that
its purpose was the ritual purification of a liquid, which could be
wine. It is supposed that another two rhytons with the
front part of animals, an amphora and one or two phials are missing,
with a view of the sacral importance of the number three in the
Thracian religion.
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The amphora
is the most interesting vessel.
The scene at its bottom shows the young Hercules smothering
two snakes, a visibly drunk reclining satyr and two Africans'
heads with pierced lips, through which the liquid is poured
out.
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The composition on its walls is developed around a precisely
pictured door, on the two sides of which there are seven men. There
are various interpretations of the scenes. The discovery of the
Strelcha Mausoleum Tomb and the temple near Starossel made a new
interpretation possible: the funeral of a Thracian ruler deified
after his death.
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A bearded satyr
from the amphora's bottom
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A warrior with a
Thracian sword
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Another dancing
warrior
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The player and the
warrior before him
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| All details of the
objects in the depicted scenes and the bodies of the gods, heroes
and animals are pedantically shaped upon the necks of the three
animal-head rhytons
(a young ram with hardly showing horns and two fallow dears).
The animal figures were shaped much more freely and confidently than
the human figures, as is typical of the Thracian art. |
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The rhyton
shaped as a young ram
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A front view of
the rhyton
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The stag's head
with a rotating solar disk upon its forehead
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The rhyton shaped
as the front part of a goat's body
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The goat's head
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| The necks of all
three rhytons shaped as women's heads are elongated and even
and end with a bottom widening at the lower end and with sphinxes'
bodies at the upper ends of the handles. The women's hair
ornaments, necklaces, and also the helmet on one of the Amazon heads
are shaped in relief. |
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Nike - the goddess
of victory on the rhyton's neck
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The first rhyton
shaped as the head of an Amazon
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The second rhyton
shaped as the head of an Amazon
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| The phial of the
Panagyurishte Treasure weighs 846 g and has a diameter of 25 cm -
the largest and heaviest phial of the Antique world. Its decoration
is also unique. There are 4 concentric circles with 24 ornaments
each around the domed even navel (omphalos), which
are meant to be looked at from the outside. |
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The phial from the
inside
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The phial from the
outside
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There exist two basic
hypotheses about the origin of the
Panagyurishte Treasure. They
are based on the carved letters on some of the vessels, which are
considered to signify the measure units of the gold. According to a
widespread thesis, the signs belong to the metric system used in the
Asia Minor town Lampsak. Other scholars however have discovered that
a similar system was used in the interior of Thrace, so there is a
possibility of the treasure's local origin.
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