Preslaw treasure

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Decorative plates of a diadem (above) and double-sided Byzantine necklace with rock crystals and amethysts (below)

The Preslav Treasure ( Bulgarian Преславско съкровище ) is an archaeological find of Veliki Preslav in ostbulgarischen Shumen Province . It consists of richly decorated jewelry belonging to a woman, which were made in Constantinople and Preslaw in the 10th century, as well as other finds dating from the 3rd to 7th centuries.

Location

Parts of the deposit were discovered by farmers in the autumn of 1978 when they were setting up a vineyard in Kastana, 3 km northwest of Preslaw , the former capital of the First Bulgarian Empire . The treasure was found in the following archaeological excavations in the remains of a primitive hut in the then Preslav suburb of Kastana in a brick oven.

history

Excavations uncovered 170 gold , silver and bronze objects, including 15 silver Byzantine coins of the emperors Constantine VII and Romanos II, as well as other finds from the 3rd to 7th centuries.

Preslaw's treasure trove was probably deposited during the events of 970 and 972, when Preslaw was first conquered by the Kiev prince Sviatoslav I and two years later by the Byzantine emperor Johannes Tzimiskes .

description

Various techniques of jewelry production were used to manufacture the decorations, buttons, patches, etc.: pit melting technique , granulation with dust-grain-sized gold balls, filigree work with fine gold wire and inlay techniques of pearls and colored enamel .

One of the finds from the Preslaw treasure trove is a double-sided necklace made of 13 gold plates lined up on a gold chain. On this chain hang, again on chains, seven teardrop-shaped medallions. On each of them and on the plates there are various depictions of Our Lady and other saints made of colored enamel , as well as birds , leaves and other ornaments. The wearer of the necklace was probably under the protection of Our Lady, who is depicted on both sides of the central medallion. It is possible that the piece of jewelry was a wedding present from Tsar Peter I to his bride Maria-Irina of Byzantium, the granddaughter of the Byzantine emperor Romanos I Lakapenos . The assumption that it was a wedding present is based on the fact that the depicted water birds symbolize happiness in the family and marital fidelity. Florin Curta of the University of Florida suspects that the jewelry belonged to one of Maria Irina's two daughters, who received it on a trip to Constantinople with her mother in 940.

A second piece of jewelry is a tiara made of several golden decorative plates with a decoration of colored cloisonné enamel . Some jewelry plates are not preserved. The middle panel shows the Macedonian King Alexander the Great with two griffins , ascending to heaven in a chariot. This motif is often used in Byzantine art and from there it found its way into Bulgarian art. The other panels show fabulous and mythological images, including depictions of winged dogs.

Both pieces of jewelry are Byzantine work.

literature

  • Totju Totev: The Preslav treasure. Altos, Shoumen 1993. ISBN 954-588-007-4
  • Antje Bosselmann-Ruickbie: Byzantine jewelry from the 9th to the early 13th century. Wiesbaden 2011, 18–40. ISBN 978-3-89500-717-0

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Dimiter Dimitrov: Bulgaria - Land of Ancient Civilizations. Foreign Language Press, Sofia 1961, p. 37
  2. ^ Treasure-Room National Historical-Archaeological Reserve and Museum Veliki Preslav
  3. ^ George Philip Baker: Constantine the Great and the Christian Revolution. Kessinger Publishing Company, Whitefish 2003, ISBN 0-7661-7292-9 , p. 61
  4. ^ Pat Southern : The Roman Empire from Severus to Constantine. Routledge, New York 2001, ISBN 0-415-23944-3 , p. 286
  5. ^ A b c Florin Curta: Southeastern Europe in the Middle Ages, 500-1250. Cambridge Medieval Textbooks, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2006, p. 229, ISBN 0-521-81539-8
  6. ↑ Peter Houtzagers, Jenneke Kalsbeek, Jos Schaeken: Dutch Contributions to the Thirteenth International Congress of Slavists, Aug. 15 to 21, 2003 in Ljubljana. Studies in Slavic and General Linguistics, p. 392
  7. ^ John Julius Norwich: A Short History of Byzantium. 1998 p. 181
  8. ^ John Rich: The City in Late Antiquity. Leicester-Nottingham Studies in Ancient Society, 1996 p. 191
  9. ↑ Ivan Jordanov: Preslav. In: Angeliki E. Laiou (Ed.): The Economic History of Byzantium: From the Seventh through the Fifteenth Century. Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, Dumbarton Oaks Studies No. 39, Washington DC 2002

Web links

Commons : Treasure of Preslaw  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 43 ° 10 ′ 0 ″  N , 26 ° 49 ′ 0 ″  E