| Borovo Treasure | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Material | silver |
| Created | 383 BC – 359 BC |
| Discovered | 1974 at Borovo |
| Present location | Rousse Regional Historical Museum |
The Borovo Treasure, also known as the Borovo Silver Treasure, is a Thracian hoard of five matching silver-gilt items discovered in late 1974 while ploughing a field in Borovo, Bulgaria.
The treasure is kept in the history museum at Ruse.
Items
The treasure consists of a table set of five silver-gilt items:
- Three rhyta, each a different size, and with a different base. The largest has a figure of a sphinx and bears the inscription: " Cotys from Beos.", as well as the name of the craftsman, Etbeos. The second has a figure of a horse, and the third, the smallest, has a bull. Each are half figures.
- A large, two-handled bowl: This item is decorated with a relief of a deer being attacked by a griffin.
- A rhyta jug with images gods at a feast, scenes showing the mythological cycles, with images of Dionysus and Heracles, satyrs, griffons, and sphinxes.
Discovery
The discovery was made while ploughing a field approximately 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) from the village of Borovo, Ruse, in Bulgaria. Unfortunately, the plow severely damaged objects, but after extensive restoration work, the damage is nearly invisible.
It is unknown why the treasure was buried at that particular site since no tumulus was found at the location.
Origins
The inscription on the sphinx rhyta indicates that the treasure may have been a gift to a local Getic ruler from the king Cotys I (382-359 BC), who reigned in the Odrysian Kingdom from 383 to 359 BC. It is for this reason that the treasure is considered to be from the early to mid fourth century BC.
Gallery
See also
Other Thracian treasures:
References
- ^ "Borovo Treasure - Landmarks/Treasures - BulgariaInside.com". Bulgariainside.eu. 2010-03-24. Archived from the original on 2017-02-11. Retrieved 2011-08-31.
- ^ "The Borovo silver treasure | Ancient Treasures, Ancient Thracians". Ancient-treasure.info. Retrieved 2011-08-31.
- Ovcharov, Dimiter (2005). "The Borovo Treasure: A Feast Eating or Sacrificial Set". Fifteen Treasures from Bulgarian Lands. Translated by Pencheva, Maya. Sofia: Bulgarian Bestseller, National Museum of Books and Polygraphy. p. 49.
- ^ "Bulgaria's Thracian Heritage - The Borovo Treasure". Omda.bg. Archived from the original on 2011-09-18. Retrieved 2011-08-31.
- Marazov, Ivan; Fol, Alexander (1977). Thrace and the Thracians. New York: St. Martin’s Press. pp. 79, 81. Retrieved 21 June 2018 – via Internet Archive.
- ^ "Borovo Treasure". Heritage Key. Archived from the original on 2010-11-26. Retrieved 2011-08-31.
Further reading
- Venedikov, Ivan (1977). "The Archaeological Wealth of Ancient Thrace". The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin. 35 (1): 7–71. JSTOR 3258668. via- Met Publications
- "Treasure found at the village of Borovo (Rousse District); First Half of the Fourth Century B.C., District Museum of History, Rousse". Thracian Treasures from Bulgaria: Checklist of The Special Exhibition, June 11 - September 4, 1977, coordinated by Dietrich von Bothmer, items 288-292. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art. 1977. Archived from the original on 6 July 2018. Retrieved 24 June 2018 – via Digital Collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
- Eisenberg, Jerome M. (January 1998). "The Wealth of the Thracians: A Spectacular Exhibitions of Thracian Treasures Travelling America" (PDF). The International Review of Ancient Art & Archaeology - MINERVA. 9 (1): 16. Retrieved 24 June 2018.
- Valeva, Julia (2015). "Chapter 14: Gold, Silver and Bronze Vessels". In Valeva, Julia; Nankov, Emil; Graninger, Denver (eds.). A Companion to Ancient Thrace. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons. pp. 198, 201–202, 204.