A hoard of gold jewellery and metal artefacts dating back around 3,000 years has been unearthed in Prahova County, Romania, in a discovery archaeologists claim could redraw our perspective on the prehistoric past.
The treasure was unearthed near the city of Urlaţi by a metal detectorist who reported the discovery to authorities after finding a cache of gold, bronze and iron buried on a remote hillside.
Among the items recovered were three gold neck rings weighing a combined 320 grams, three iron rings, two small axes and a bronze bracelet. The objects were sent to the Prahova Museum of History and Archaeology for examination.
The discovery was made when the detectorist received a strong signal from an isolated area with no nearby roads or modern settlement. Digging to a depth of around 25 centimetres, he uncovered three iron rings covering a bundle of artefacts. At first the gold objects were thought to be bracelets and museum experts later identified them as neck rings that had been tightly coiled before burial.
Archaeologist Alin Frînculeasa described it as a particularly special find, as the artefacts seem to be from a period of time in which the later Bronze Age and the earliest part of the Iron Age were observed.
That dating is a challenge for researchers. Some of the objects have characteristics relevant to Bronze Age material culture, while others look like artefacts of later times. Archaeologists are now looking at whether the hoard reflects items collected over time or if it points to a more complex chronology than previously believed.
One of the gold neck rings has decorative motifs that are known from Bronze Age ceramics. Other pieces have similar features with metalwork found in different archaeological contexts, and it is hard to place this assemblage within existing classifications.
Researchers are now attempting to determine the source of the gold and the metal content of the artefacts. They may even find trade links, technological practices and cultural connections between communities living in the region three millennia ago.
And attention has also turned to the site itself. Archaeologists are going to look at the hill from where the hoard was found to see if it was part of a settlement, a ritual site or another kind of prehistoric activity. No archaeological site has been recorded there.
When conservation and research work are completed, the artefacts will be made public display at the Prahova Museum of History and Archaeology.
Archaeologists view the finding beyond the gold itself. It is a rare chance to study a period in European prehistory at a time of transition and this exhibition is a rare opportunity for us to gain some new evidence about the connection between the Bronze Age and iron-working societies in the area.
Sources : Prahova Museum of History and Archeology