To the famous treasure of gold items from Vylchetrin, the definition of “very-very” can be applied many times, because it is the oldest Thracian gold found in Bulgaria. This is also the largest gold treasure in Thrace. Finally, this is the most mysterious find related to the Thracian era: really, what can be said about the purpose of the mysterious vessel, consisting of three gold ladles connected to each other, clearly not intended for scooping up liquids, because each of them has a through hole?
These amazing objects were found under random circumstances in 1924 in the Dolgite Lozya tract, northeast of the village of Vylchetrin in the Pleven district. On that day, December 28, the local residents brothers Todor and Nikola Tsvetanov, having gathered about fifteen farm laborers, went to the vineyard to shelter the vines for the winter and during the work unexpectedly stumbled upon vessels of yellow metal hidden in the ground. They lay quite shallow, only about 30 cm from the surface, and there were no traces of decayed fabric or a wooden box near them, where they could originally have been. In a large vessel, shaped like a soup bowl, several smaller vessels were simply stacked, and on top it was covered with several flat lids or plates.
“There must be a treasure somewhere nearby,” the peasants decided. They did not even suspect that the treasure was already in their hands, since in their eyes the "tureen with lids" was not of great value. Leaving the vessels on the arable land, they began to dig everything around to great depths in search of hidden money. Finally, making sure that there was nothing else here, the peasants divided the found items. Most of them fell into the hands of the land owners - the Tsvetanov brothers.
In an attempt to sell the find, the brothers turned to the local jeweler Kostya Zlatarev. After examining the finds, he was very surprised, because it was very high-grade and, undoubtedly, very ancient gold.
In early 1925, the treasure entered the Archaeological Museum in Sofia. It consists of 13 gold items with a total weight of 12.425 kilograms. Some of them have such an unusual shape that it is even difficult to determine their purpose. The treasure includes a large round vessel with two handles ("tureen"), one large and three small ladles, two large (0.37 meters in diameter) and five small disks, as well as one absolutely extraordinary vessel in the form of three connected to each other elliptical buckets. When the peasants removed these items from the ground, they were completely intact, but later, when dividing the spoils, some of them were seriously damaged.
The metal from which the vessels are made contains approximately the same percentage of gold, silver, copper and iron. Electron (an alloy of gold and silver), nickel and tin were used in their processing and decoration. All products are made in the same style and using the same technique, some of them (small buckets and discs) even have almost the same weight. They are simple in shape and are strikingly different from similar products created by ancient Greek masters. The craftsmanship with which the vessels are made is amazing - only with the help of microanalysis it was possible to establish that the upper parts of some of them are not integral with the lower ones, but skillfully soldered to them with silver solder.
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A number of researchers of the Vylchetrinsky hoard believe that the set of precious vessels is incomplete - it lacks a stand for a three-part vessel (it may have been made in the form of a chariot) and other obviously “asking for” objects. It is unclear whether they were appropriated by the peasants (although they swore that they had surrendered all the items in full), or they were lost even before the treasure fell into the ground. It is also unclear when the holes were punched in the ladles of the three-part vessel, because their presence completely excludes the use of these ladles for their intended purpose.
Scientists are sure that all these vessels were undoubtedly of a ritual nature. Perhaps they were used by the Thracian priests, which Homer mentions in the Iliad and Odyssey, or the Thracian kings. But does this mean that an ancient sanctuary or residence of the Thracian kings existed in the vicinity of the village of Vylchetrin in 1400-1300 BC (this is the age of the treasure)?
Archaeologists have thoroughly examined the place of discovery and the entire surrounding area. Alas, no traces of ancient buildings have been found. When local residents were questioned, it turned out that they began to cultivate the land here relatively recently. Back in 1860-1870, dense forests stretched on this place. An amazing treasure was buried under one of the trees. Apparently, the treasure fell into the ground under random circumstances, as evidenced by the shallow depth at which the precious vessels lay.
Maybe its owner fled and did not have time to bury the gold deeper, or these vessels were stolen and hidden in the hope of their early return. Be that as it may, the treasure was not reclaimed. It is obvious that the one who hid it is dead.
Today, the gold vessels of the Vylchetrinsky hoard are kept in the National Archaeological Museum in Sofia and are among the most valuable exhibits in its collection.
Used materials from the book by N. N. Nepomniachtchi "100 great treasures"