The Borovo Treasure, also known as the Borovo Silver Treasure, is a

Thracian The Thracians (; grc, Θρᾷκες ''Thrāikes''; la, Thraci) were an Indo-European speaking people who inhabited large parts of Eastern and Southeastern Europe in ancient history.. "The Thracians were an Indo-European people who occupied t ...

hoard of five matching

silver-gilt Silver-gilt or gilded/gilt silver, sometimes known in American English by the French term vermeil, is silver (either pure or sterling) which has been gilded with gold. Most large objects made in goldsmithing that appear to be gold are actually ...

items discovered in late 1974 while ploughing a field in Borovo,

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

. The treasure is kept in the history museum at

Ruse Ruse may refer to: Places *Ruse, Bulgaria, a major city of Bulgaria **Ruse Municipality ** Ruse Province ** 19th MMC – Ruse, a constituency *Ruše, a town and municipality in north-eastern Slovenia * Ruše, Žalec, a small settlement in east-ce ...

Items

The treasure consists of a table set of five

items: *Three rhyta, each a different size, and with a different base. The largest has a figure of a

sphinx A sphinx ( , grc, σφίγξ , Boeotian: , plural sphinxes or sphinges) is a mythical creature with the head of a human, the body of a lion, and the wings of a falcon. In Greek tradition, the sphinx has the head of a woman, the haunches of ...

and bears the inscription: " elongs toCotys from

he town of He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...

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 The griffin, griffon, or gryphon (Ancient Greek: , ''gryps''; Classical Latin: ''grȳps'' or ''grȳpus''; Late Latin, Late and Medieval Latin: ''gryphes'', ''grypho'' etc.; Old French: ''griffon'') is a legendary creature with the body, tail ...

. *A rhyta jug with images gods at a feast, scenes showing the mythological cycles, with images of

Dionysus In ancient Greek religion and myth, Dionysus (; grc, Διόνυσος ) is the god of the grape-harvest, winemaking, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, festivity, and theatre. The Romans ...

and

Heracles Heracles ( ; grc-gre, Ἡρακλῆς, , glory/fame of Hera), born Alcaeus (, ''Alkaios'') or Alcides (, ''Alkeidēs''), was a divine hero in Greek mythology, the son of Zeus and Alcmene, and the foster son of Amphitryon.By his adoptive ...

satyr In Greek mythology, a satyr ( grc-gre, :wikt:σάτυρος, σάτυρος, sátyros, ), also known as a silenus or ''silenos'' ( grc-gre, :wikt:Σειληνός, σειληνός ), is a male List of nature deities, nature spirit with ears ...

s, griffons, and sphinxes.

Discovery

The discovery was made while ploughing a field approximately 2 km from the village of Borovo,

, 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 A tumulus (plural tumuli) is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds or ''kurgans'', and may be found throughout much of the world. A cairn, which is a mound of stones buil ...

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 The Getae ( ) or Gets ( ; grc, Γέται, singular ) were a Thracian-related tribe that once inhabited the regions to either side of the Lower Danube, in what is today northern Bulgaria and southern Romania. Both the singular form ''Get'' an ...

ruler from the king Cotys I (382-359 BC), who reigned in the

Odrysian Kingdom The Odrysian Kingdom (; Ancient Greek: ) was a state grouping many Thracian tribes united by the Odrysae, which arose in the early 5th century BC and existed at least until the late 1st century BC. It consisted mainly of present-day Bulgaria an ...

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

Image:NHMB-Borovo-treasure-of-CotysI--copy.jpg Image:Thracian treasure Borovo Sphynx 2.jpg Image:Thracian treasure Borovo Jug.JPG Image:Thracian treasure Borovo Sphynx 1.JPG Image:Thracian treasure Borovo 2.jpg

Items

Discovery

Origins

Gallery

See also

References

Further reading