The treasure consists of a phiale, an amphora, three oinochoai and four rhytons with total weight of 6.164kg of 24-karat gold.[2][3][4] All nine vessels are richly and skilfully decorated.[5] It is dated from the turn of the 4th-3rd centuries BC.[6] It is thought to have been used as a royal ceremonial set by the Thracian king Seuthes III.[7][8][9]
The items may have been buried to hide them during 4th century BC invasions of the area by the Celts or Macedonians.[10] The phiale carries inscriptions giving its weight in Greek drachmae and Persian darics.[11]
Deikov Brothers holding the treasure
It was accidentally discovered on 8 December 1949 by three brothers, Pavel, Petko, and Michail Deikov, who worked together at the region of “Merul” tile factory near the railway station of the town of Panagyurishte, Bulgaria.[12] At the time of its discovery it was considered "the richest treasure to have been unearthed in Europe since World War II.".[13]
As one of the best known surviving artefacts of Thracian culture, the treasure has been displayed at various museums around the world.[14][5][15][16][17] The treasure is the centerpiece of the Thracian art collection of the Plovdiv Regional Historical Museum, the National Museum of History in Sofia, and the History Museum in Panagyurishte.[18] There are three replica sets, which are displayed in the museums in Panagyurishte, Sofia and Plovdiv, when the authentic treasure is lent for exhibitions abroad.[19]
Crampton, R. J. (2005). A Concise History of Bulgaria (2nded.). Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, São Paolo: Cambridge University Press. p.1.
The nine sensational gold vessels were initially announced as "vessels from which Alexander the Great may have drunk". See Illustrated London News of December 11th, 1954, pp. 1056-1057. Kontoleon, N.M. (1962), "The Gold Treasure of Panagurischte", Balkan Studies, vol.3, p.186
Ovcharov, Dimiter (2003). "The Panagyurishte Treasure: The Shine of Thracian Royal Gold". Fifteen Treasures from Bulgarian Lands. Translated by Pencheva, Maya. Sofia: Bulgarian Bestseller, National Museum of Bulgarian Books and Polygraphy. p.47.
Hoffmann, Herbert (1957), "Book Review: Neue Denkmäler antiker Toreutik by Bedřich Svoboda, Dimiter Cončev, Monumenta Archaeologica. Acta Praehistorica et Historica Instituti Archaeologici Academiae Scientiarum Bohemoslovenicae Curante Jaroslovo Böhm Edita, Tomus IV, Pp. 172, figs. 46, pls. 32. Prague, 1956", American Journal of Archaeology, vol.61, Archaeological Institute of America, p.391, doi:10.2307/500610, JSTOR500610
Kontoleon, N.M. (1962), "The Gold Treasure of Panagurischte", Balkan Studies, vol.3, pp.185–200, retrieved 24 June 2018
Corbett, P.E. (1964). "Reviewed Work: Venedikov, (I.) "The Panagyurishte Gold Treasure" Sofia: "Bulgarski Houdozhnik" Publishing House, 1961, Pp. 29, 39 plates. 14 figures". The Journal of Hellenic Studies. 84: 229–231. doi:10.2307/627788. JSTOR627788.
Strong, Donald Emrys (1966). Greek and Roman Gold and Silver Plate. London: Methuen & Co. Ltd. pp.97, 102.
Griffith, John G. (1974). "The Siege Scene on the Gold Amphora of the Panagjurischte Treasure". Journal of Hellenic Studies. 94: 38–49. doi:10.2307/630418. JSTOR630418.
Hoddinott, Ralph F. (1975). Bulgaria in Antiquity: An Archaeological Introduction. London, Tonbridge: Ernest Benn Limited. pp.85, 89.
Moorey, P. R. S (March 1976). "Thracian Treasures". The Burlington Magazine. 118 (876): 179–174. JSTOR878327.
Marazov, Ivan; Fol, Alexander (1977). Thrace and the Thracians. New York: St. Martin’s Press. pp.22, 60, 66, 69, 75, 79, 81–85, 100, 111, 153. Retrieved 8 June 2018– via Internet Archive.
Vickers, Michael (1989). "Panagyurishte, Dalboki, Lukovit and Rogozen: Questions of Metrology and Status". In Cook, B. F. (ed.). The Rogozen Treasure: Papers of the Anglo-Bulgarian Conference 12 March 1987. London: British Museum Publications. pp.33–37.
Marazov, Ivan; Fol, Alexander (1998). Ancient gold: The Wealth of the Thracians: Treasures from the Republic of Bulgaria. New York: Harry N. Abrams, in Association with the Trust for Museum Exhibitions, in Cooperation with the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Bulgaria. pp.145–148.
Archibald, Zosia H. (1998). The Odrysian kingdom of Thrace: Orpheus unmasked. Oxford, New York: Clarendon and Oxford University Press. pp.271–272, 328.
Kitov, Georgi (2003). The Panagyurishte Treasure. Varna: Slavena Publishing House.
Fanthrope, Lionel; Fanthorpe, Patricia (2009). Secrets of the World's Undiscovered Treasures. Toronto, Ontario: Dundurn. p.72.
Guzzo, Pier Giovanni; Spatafora, Francesca; Vassalo, Stefano (2010). "Una phiale d'oro iscritta dall'entroterra di Himera /An inscribed golden phial from the hinterland of Himera: from Sicily to New York and back". Mélanges de l'École française de Rome: Antiquité (122–2): 451–477. doi:10.4000/mefra.303.
Chary, Frederick B. (2011). The Greenwood Histories of the Modern Nations: THE HISTORY OF BULGARIA. Santa Barbara, CA; Denver, CO; Oxford, England: Greenwood, An Imprint of ABC-Clio, LLC. pp.1, 145.
Valeva, Julia (2015). "Chapter 14: Gold, Silver and Bronze Vessels". In Valeva, Julia; Nankov, Emil; Graninger, Denver (eds.). A Companion to Ancient Thrace. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons. pp.202–203.
Holt, Frank Lee (2016). The Treasures of Alexander the Great: How One Man's Wealth Shaped the World. Oxford University Press. p.47.
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