The Chalcolithic Necropolis
Bulgaria's claim to be one of the cradles of European culture was bolstered by the discovery of a Chalcolithic (the era when Neolithic man began to smelt copper) necropolis on the outskirts of town in 1972. Dating from the fourth millennium BC, the necropolis was unusual in that it contained many graves in which effigies, rather than human dead, were buried - probably to ensure the continuing health of the living. The gold trinkets with which these symbolic corpses were adorned are displayed extensively in the museum: baubles, bracelets, and pendants in the shape of animals. Many pieces are simply executed; others display an incredible degree of skill considering that they were made 6000 years ago. They're possibly the oldest examples of gold jewellery ever discovered, and have led many to assume that metalworking techniques were developed in Bulgaria independently of the other loci of civilization in the Near East. There's also an intriguing collection of pottery from the Neolithic period on show, including a small clay human head, presumably a ritual object, recovered from the settlement of Arsenala, which is now submerged beneath Varna Lake.
Your Tip for Archeological Museum
Help other backpackers! Write your own guides and backpacking tips to Archeological Museum - they will appear instantly on this page - Please only write a tip/guide to Archeological Museum - visit the main Archeological Museum forum to ask a question!
Please do not post links to your site here (they won't work) - please use the Archeological Museum webguide section below! Thanks.
| 
