A golden necklace, part of 15,000 tiny pieces of of Thracian royal jewellery
© AFP Valentina PetrovaSOFIA (AFP) - "The golden objects unearthed near the village of Dabene in central Bulgaria are not just pieces of Thracian jewellery. They are objects of exquisite regal ornamentation," he told AFP.
"In the whole of Europe and the Near East there is only one find that rivals these extremely well-crafted pieces -- the golden treasures found in ancient Troy," Dimitrov said.
"The large number of golden objects and the expert craftsmanship in their making lead us to question Troy's supremacy as the biggest ancient centre for goldsmiths," he said.
Digging started near Dabene a year ago after an archeologist saw a farmer's wife wearing a necklace of golden rings, assembled by her husband from pieces he had found on his farm.
Dimitrov said it was likely that more gold objects would be found.
In July, the museum's team of archeologists discovered the tomb of a Thracian king from the fourth century BC, filled with treasures including a golden crown and body armour along with gold, silver and bronze cups.
Last year, another archeological team unearthed near Shipka, in central Bulgaria, a golden mask similar to the "Mask of Agamemnon" discovered by Heinrich Schliemann in Troy.
Central Bulgaria is considered the cradle of ancient Thracian civilization, which extended from the Caucasus to southwestern Europe from the fourth millennium BC to the third century AD.
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