Throughout human history, gold has always been a symbol of power and wealth. In the region of Varna, archaeologists discovered a group of ancient tombs dating back 6,000 years.
During the excavation of (tomb number 43), scientists found that the body of the tomb’s occupant was covered with numerous gold decorations. What made the archaeologists even more incredulous was the fact that this man had a special golden protective covering on his lower body. Such exquisite gold burial objects shattered previous understandings.
Previously, it was believed that copper was the first metal humans smelted, but now there are reasons to believe that gold and copper smelting appeared almost simultaneously.
Gold burial objects.
Varna is a coastal city in Bulgaria and the largest port in the country. It is dubbed the “Pearl of the Black Sea.” The city has a temperate climate with four distinct seasons, making it a famous tourist destination in Bulgaria. Varna has a rich history – the Greeks settled here in the 6th century BC, naming it Odessos.
In the latter half of the 6th century AD, a large number of Slavs migrated from the north and renamed the city Varna. Although Bulgaria is small in size, it is located on the Balkan Peninsula at the crossroads of Europe and Asia, encompassing many Eastern and Western cultures. Due to its rich resources and strategic location, many nations have historically sought to conquer it, leading Bulgaria to endure numerous wars. Consequently, the country is rich in historical sites and has preserved many different cultural relics.
In a chance construction project in 1970, workers unexpectedly unearthed several unusual artifacts. The discovery of these artifacts soon sparked significant interest among archaeologists. With deeper excavations, a vast complex of ancient tombs gradually revealed itself to the world.
In the following fifteen years, archaeologists systematically and meticulously excavated this ancient tomb complex. They discovered over 300 ancient tombs, each carefully numbered and documented. These tombs share a common feature: they contain varying amounts of gold artifacts.
Some tombs contained hundreds of gold artifacts, while others had only one or two. Archaeologists have confirmed that this site served as a burial ground from the Neolithic to the Bronze Age. Over 3,000 gold items were excavated from 294 ancient tombs covering an area of approximately 7,500 square meters, including bracelets, necklaces, beads, and various items made of pure gold.
Through radiocarbon dating, experts deduced that these tombs were constructed around 4569 to 4340 BC, meaning they are over 6,000 years old. This represents a turning point in human history, as people were transitioning from the Neolithic period to the Bronze Age.
Exquisite gold jewelry.
In other words, this exquisite gold jewelry emerged during humanity’s transitional period from the Stone Age to the Bronze Age. The advent of bronze has significant historical implications in the development of human culture, greatly enhancing agricultural productivity and helping society enter a more advanced Bronze Age from the primitive Stone Age.
From an archaeological perspective, the sign that humanity has entered the Bronze Age is not merely the random appearance of bronze, but rather that bronze has taken a crucial role in human production and life. The discovery of gold in Varna has opened many new research avenues regarding the Bronze Age.
Olga Perevina, a renowned Bulgarian archaeologist, believes that it was previously thought that copper was the first metal humans melted. The discovery of this gold jewelry gives us reason to believe that the smelting of gold and copper occurred almost simultaneously.
Among the gold items in Varna, the most striking are the gold bracelets. These sparkling bracelets originated from tomb number 43. Through head restoration, it was determined that the tomb’s occupant was a man approximately 40 to 50 years old, standing about 170 cm tall. In addition to the gold bracelet, the man also wore a necklace made of gold beads, with his chest and knees adorned with gold pieces.
A golden protective covering was even found near his genital area. Although the clothing he wore had long since decayed, the various gold jewelry adorning it remained intact. These findings undoubtedly reflect the noble status of the tomb’s occupant.
The occupant of tomb number 43 was likely a powerful tribal leader throughout his life. Compared to other ancient tombs, most ancient tombs contained only a string of beads and a flint knife, while the most luxurious tombs had just a single gold bracelet. Gold jewelry was only found in a few ancient tombs. The quantity and variety of burial items in these ancient tombs indicate that even over 6,000 years ago, people were stratified by social status.
Among the more than 300 ancient tombs, it is surprising to find that there are more burial items for men than for women. This also indicates that men at that time held a higher status than women. The social system shifted from “matriarchy” to “patriarchy.” During the matriarchal period, women held high status, making it common for women to occupy tribal leadership positions. The marriage system at that time was communal, leading to frequent occurrences of “knowing the mother but not the father.”
With the development of a subsistence economy, people began to become self-sufficient. Men took responsibility for cultivating food outside, allowing them to quickly take control of the economic lifeline. Gradually, men gained the right to speak, and their status rose significantly above that of women.
The artifacts discovered at Varna tell us many stories from that time but also leave us with many unanswered mysteries. One of the most puzzling aspects for modern archaeologists is how the small, exquisite gold rings were created, as they show no welding points under common modern microscopes.
In ancient times, the most primitive method of welding gold products involved using high temperatures to weld, with the welding material typically being lower purity gold. Generally, the more visible the welds are, the lower the purity of the gold. However, the issue is that 6,000 years ago, humans could not master high-tech modern tools, so how could they make the welds of the gold products invisible to the naked eye or even to common microscopes? We have no way of knowing the secret behind this. For this reason, the ancient tomb has attracted global attention, yet to this day, no one has provided a reasonable explanation for the extraordinary metal found in the ancient tomb.
