THE PRESLAV GOLDEN TREASURE

     On the day of Bulgarian archeology on February 14, 2020, the renovated Treasure Hall of the Veliki Preslav in the Archaeological Museum will once again welcome guests, tourists, scientists and amateurs. After a year of restoration in Mainz (Germany) and successful visits to the Louvre Museum (France) and the National Archaeological Institute with a Museum at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (Sofia), the museum guests will be able to enjoy exquisite jewelry from the royal court.

    More than 40 years after the discovery of the treasure, the restoration and conservation activities and scientific analyzes at the Roman-German Central Museum in Mainz shed new light on the techniques used to make, the composition of the metals used and the precious stones in the ornaments. In the analyzes performed, the researchers used only non-destructive methods of research aimed at the maximum storage of the objects. Their results show that no glass was used to make the jewelry from the Preslav gold treasure, except for the cellular enamel in different colors, separated by thin gold stripes. Recent studies show that gemstones thought to be amethyst are actually pale rubies and grenades, while mountain crystals along the double-sided necklace are fluorites used by Byzantine goldsmiths, unknown in other products until now.

     Studies on precious stones and materials provide information about high technical expertise in silver and gold alloy work and innovative approaches to jewelry making. 

     The precious metal range shows that the treasure is much more valuable than previously thought. Visitors to the Veliki Preslav Archaeological Museum can find out which is the second necklace of the treasure throughout the tourist season 2020.