Address: Milena Tonkova Assoc. Prof., PhD Department of Thracian Archaeology National Archaeological Institute with Museum Bulgarian Academy of Sciences 2, Saborna st, Sofia 1000, BG
Comptes Rendus Des Seances De L Academie Des Inscriptions & Belles-lettres, 2015
Tonkova Milena, Stoyanov Totko. La nécropole royale thrace de Shipka-Sheynovo-Kran. In: Comptes r... more Tonkova Milena, Stoyanov Totko. La nécropole royale thrace de Shipka-Sheynovo-Kran. In: Comptes rendus des séances de l'Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres, 159e année, N. 2, 2015. pp. 913-943
В. Николов (ред.). Тракийската древност: технологични и генетични изследвания, история и нематериално наследство. Сборник в чест на 75-годишнината на Петър Манджуков. София, 52-73, 2017
Technological characteristics of metal objects from the artisan’s deposit from the Thracian sanct... more Technological characteristics of metal objects from the artisan’s deposit from the Thracian sanctuary at the village of Malko Tranovo, Chirpan region: archaeology and archaeometry.
The pit sanctuary at the village of Malko Tranovo is one of the most significant cult sites from the Classical and Early Hellenistic Ages in Thrace. In its central part a pit with an artisan’s deposit from the first half of the 5th century BC has been explored. It contains over 100 finds of metal objects, as well as those of bone, as well as blanks and raw materials. This study presents the results of a project for determination the formal and technological characteristics of bronze products, which make up most of this deposit, by combining archaeological with non-destructive physicochemical methods of analysis. Analyzes were made of a selection of 26 items from the deposit - elements of bronze vessels, jewelry, tools, as well as several finds of copper and lead, which are most informative about the nature of the deposit. Among the most important results are the documented traces of platinum and gold on the work surface of a copper hammer from the deposit. It is probably used to make complex-profiled products of toreutics and jewelry, including such of precious metals.
In: E. Manakidou, A. Avramidou (eds.). Classical Pottery from the Northern Aegean and its Periphery (480-323/300 BC). Thessaloniki, 2019
Based on the grey pottery from the site of Halka Bunar, municipality Bratya Daskalovi in the Cen... more Based on the grey pottery from the site of Halka Bunar, municipality Bratya Daskalovi in the Central Southern Bulgaria, the present paper intends a general overview of this class of pottery in inner Thrace, known already since the Archaic period and with documented relations with the Aeolid and the area of the North Aegean Sea. In Halka Bunar the grey ware of the Classical period, as in many other neighbouring sites, it has been found within ritual or domestic pits, and it seems to develop in continuity with that of the Archaic period. The shape repertory includes bowls, cups and mugs, strainers and jugs, lekanae with vertical or horizontal handles, craters, table amphorae and possibly hydriae. The distribution of the grey ware, the dating of which is often based on contextual finds imported from the Greek world, spreads from the shores fo the Black Sea to the western parts of the Maritsa/Evros Valley, and even to the regions on the north of this valley. It is undoubtedly the product of local workshops, which continued, even though with a more restricted shape repertory, during the early Hellenistic period as well.
T. Stoyanov, M. Tonkova, Ch. Preshlenov, Ch. Popov (Eds.). Heros Hephaistos. Studia in honorem Liubae Ognenova-Marinova, V. Tarnovo, 2005, 262-275.
The aim of the presented study is the real models of the pieces of jewellery depicted on the rhyt... more The aim of the presented study is the real models of the pieces of jewellery depicted on the rhytons nos. 5, 6 and 7 from the Panagyurishte treasure to be identified. On the base of their chronology and regions of dispersion new arguments in the dispute for the origin of the Panagyurishte treasure and the time of its manufacture are sought.
The crosshatched fields on the jugs-rhytons nos. 5 and 6 are interpreted as short rectangular diadems of the type of those depicted on the earrings with women's heads from Crispiano and the short semitubular diadem found along with them. The distinguished Early Hellenistic pedimental diadem is discerned in the triangular diadem represented on the jug-rhyton no. 7. According to the analysis, not simply a popular model but a really existing piece of jewellery is represented. The stylistical similarity in the rendering of the central palmette allows the diadems of the group of those found in the Dardanos tomb to be accepted as a possible prototype of the depicted diadem. The great number pedimental diadems coming from the both sides of the Hellespont are the main argument in the searching of the artistic centre created the Panagyrishte vessels. It is underlined that diadems of the considered type have not been found in inner Thrace.
The graphical images of necklaces on the jugs-rhytons nos. 5 and 6 are defined as a summarised composition of two types really existing Early Hellenistic Greek necklaces - a "bearing" part and terminals of the common necklace of beads, fastened with conical finials; and a "suspending" part, taken from another characteristic type - the strap-necklace with firmly attached net of chains with seed-like pendants. Arguments for the date and place of production of the Panagyrishte treasure are looked for in the specific spread of the type in the last third of the 4th century BC in the centres on the West Coast of Asia Minor and the region of the Straits. The medallion-appliqué with a lion's head is considered both with its utilitarian role and as a piece of jewellery - a separately worn medallion with an apotropaic function.
On the base of the performed analysis the following conclusions are formulated. The depicted pieces of jewellery represent really existing patterns popular in the East Greek jewellery fashion of the last third of the 4th century BC. The most indicative is the spread of the pedimental diadem and the strap-necklace with a net of chains. They have numerous representatives in the cities from the West Asia Minor coast, especially from the region of the Straits, but they remained unknown in inner Thrace. The concentration of diadems of this type is remarkable in the cities on the both sides of the Hellespont. The performed observations are adduced as new independent evidence for one of the leading hypotheses placing the artistic centre created the treasure in the region of the Straits and, more precisely, in the cities on the both coasts of the Hellespont.
H. Popov, J. Tzvetkova (Eds.). KRATISTOS. Volume in honour of Professor Peter Delev. Sofia, 553-561, 2017
The collection of the National Archaeological Museum (NAM) keeps a massive bronze finger ring wit... more The collection of the National Archaeological Museum (NAM) keeps a massive bronze finger ring with a relief portrait of a woman with the so-called melon coiffure and a diadem, probably the queen Berenike II. This example belongs to the so called Ptolemaic rings spread after the second quarter of the 3rd and mainly in the late 3rd – early 2nd century BC in the Eastern Mediterranean and primarily in the colonies of the North Black sea coast. This category of rings is considered as an important indicator for Egyptian influence in the Ptolemaic times. The ring from NAM with its formal-stylistic characteristics, as well as according to the composition of the bronze alloy, can be assigned to the production of an Alexandrian workshop. The ring enterеd the collection of NAM in the beginning of the 20th century with a pointed find spot the “Fortress Staklen” 4 km east of the town Svishtov. This is the same place where the remains of the Roman legionary camp and the Early Byzantine town Novae occur. The ring with the depiction of a Ptolemaic queen, as well as a terracotta figurine of a woman with a himation from the same locality, can be associated with existed settlements of the Hellenistic Age, for which there are other data. The finger-ring from Staklen locality near Svishtov increases the number of examples with a portrait of a Ptolemaic queen and adds new territories of their spread – the Hellenistic settlements of the Lower Danube, whose contacts with the South Mediterranean were facilitated by the Greek colonies along the Dobrudzha coast of the Black sea.
Dans: J. L. Martinez, A. Baralis, N. Mathieux, T. Stoyanov. M. Tonkova (Eds). L’épopée des rois thraces des guerres médiques aux invasions celtes 479-278 av. J.-C. Découvertes archéologiques en Bulgarie, Catalogue de exposition, Paris, 2015, 336–317.
In: K. Bacvarov, Ralf Gleser (eds.). Southeast Europe and Anatolia in prehistory: essays in honor of Vassil Nikolov on his 65th anniversary. (Universitätsforschungen zur Prähistorischen Archäologie 293) Bonn: Habelt, 2016, 485-493.
This paper considers the evolution of representative signs of power of the Thracian elite through... more This paper considers the evolution of representative signs of power of the Thracian elite throughout the period of the greatest flourish of the Thracian kingdoms, from the mid-5th to mid-3rd century BC. Gold pectorals, ceremonial headdresses, signet finger-rings, wreaths and horse trappings are discussed with an emphasis in their value as insignia. Two trends are highlighted: (1) aspiration to distinctiveness of the signs of power in the Early Classical period, and (2) use of universal symbols in the second half of the fourth century BC. In the first half of the third century BC, these two tendencies converged in the original gold horse trappings executed in a jewelry style. This process is well evidenced by several finds in the Odrysian lands and is reflected in the Getae territories as well.
A Companion to Ancient Thrace. Edited by Julia Valeva, Emil Nankov, and Denver Graninger. 212-228. (Blackwell Companions to the Ancient World). Malden MA and Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell, 2015
J.L. Martinez, A. Baralis, N.Mathieux, T. Stoyanov. M. Tonkova (edts). L’épopée des rois thraces des guerres médiques aux invasions celtes 479-278 av. J.-C. Découvertes archéologiques en Bulgarie. Louvre Editions, Somology. Edition d’art, Paris, 2015, 197-199., 2015
Belishka Chuka, located 1 km southeast from the town of Belitsa, is perhaps one of the most impor... more Belishka Chuka, located 1 km southeast from the town of Belitsa, is perhaps one of the most important pieces of evidence for the burial practices of the Thracians from the region of the upper reaches of the Mesta River (ancient Nestos), the Western Rhodopes and the Southern Rila Mountain area. It occupies a solitary hill, dominating the valley of the Belishka River. In 1995 and later on, in 2007, during regular archaeological excavations a unique find was made: an almost completely preserved 2500-year-old wooden sarcophagus with remains of an ancient Thracian burial. The sarcophagus is an element of a complex burial construction made of stone plates, covered with heaps of stone and an earth embankment. It dates back to the 5th century BC. The Belishka Chuka burial offers evidence for the economic and political power of the Bessoi, for their contacts with Thracian dynasts from inland Thrace, as well as with the Greeks in the Aegean.
Comptes Rendus Des Seances De L Academie Des Inscriptions & Belles-lettres, 2015
Tonkova Milena, Stoyanov Totko. La nécropole royale thrace de Shipka-Sheynovo-Kran. In: Comptes r... more Tonkova Milena, Stoyanov Totko. La nécropole royale thrace de Shipka-Sheynovo-Kran. In: Comptes rendus des séances de l'Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres, 159e année, N. 2, 2015. pp. 913-943
В. Николов (ред.). Тракийската древност: технологични и генетични изследвания, история и нематериално наследство. Сборник в чест на 75-годишнината на Петър Манджуков. София, 52-73, 2017
Technological characteristics of metal objects from the artisan’s deposit from the Thracian sanct... more Technological characteristics of metal objects from the artisan’s deposit from the Thracian sanctuary at the village of Malko Tranovo, Chirpan region: archaeology and archaeometry.
The pit sanctuary at the village of Malko Tranovo is one of the most significant cult sites from the Classical and Early Hellenistic Ages in Thrace. In its central part a pit with an artisan’s deposit from the first half of the 5th century BC has been explored. It contains over 100 finds of metal objects, as well as those of bone, as well as blanks and raw materials. This study presents the results of a project for determination the formal and technological characteristics of bronze products, which make up most of this deposit, by combining archaeological with non-destructive physicochemical methods of analysis. Analyzes were made of a selection of 26 items from the deposit - elements of bronze vessels, jewelry, tools, as well as several finds of copper and lead, which are most informative about the nature of the deposit. Among the most important results are the documented traces of platinum and gold on the work surface of a copper hammer from the deposit. It is probably used to make complex-profiled products of toreutics and jewelry, including such of precious metals.
In: E. Manakidou, A. Avramidou (eds.). Classical Pottery from the Northern Aegean and its Periphery (480-323/300 BC). Thessaloniki, 2019
Based on the grey pottery from the site of Halka Bunar, municipality Bratya Daskalovi in the Cen... more Based on the grey pottery from the site of Halka Bunar, municipality Bratya Daskalovi in the Central Southern Bulgaria, the present paper intends a general overview of this class of pottery in inner Thrace, known already since the Archaic period and with documented relations with the Aeolid and the area of the North Aegean Sea. In Halka Bunar the grey ware of the Classical period, as in many other neighbouring sites, it has been found within ritual or domestic pits, and it seems to develop in continuity with that of the Archaic period. The shape repertory includes bowls, cups and mugs, strainers and jugs, lekanae with vertical or horizontal handles, craters, table amphorae and possibly hydriae. The distribution of the grey ware, the dating of which is often based on contextual finds imported from the Greek world, spreads from the shores fo the Black Sea to the western parts of the Maritsa/Evros Valley, and even to the regions on the north of this valley. It is undoubtedly the product of local workshops, which continued, even though with a more restricted shape repertory, during the early Hellenistic period as well.
T. Stoyanov, M. Tonkova, Ch. Preshlenov, Ch. Popov (Eds.). Heros Hephaistos. Studia in honorem Liubae Ognenova-Marinova, V. Tarnovo, 2005, 262-275.
The aim of the presented study is the real models of the pieces of jewellery depicted on the rhyt... more The aim of the presented study is the real models of the pieces of jewellery depicted on the rhytons nos. 5, 6 and 7 from the Panagyurishte treasure to be identified. On the base of their chronology and regions of dispersion new arguments in the dispute for the origin of the Panagyurishte treasure and the time of its manufacture are sought.
The crosshatched fields on the jugs-rhytons nos. 5 and 6 are interpreted as short rectangular diadems of the type of those depicted on the earrings with women's heads from Crispiano and the short semitubular diadem found along with them. The distinguished Early Hellenistic pedimental diadem is discerned in the triangular diadem represented on the jug-rhyton no. 7. According to the analysis, not simply a popular model but a really existing piece of jewellery is represented. The stylistical similarity in the rendering of the central palmette allows the diadems of the group of those found in the Dardanos tomb to be accepted as a possible prototype of the depicted diadem. The great number pedimental diadems coming from the both sides of the Hellespont are the main argument in the searching of the artistic centre created the Panagyrishte vessels. It is underlined that diadems of the considered type have not been found in inner Thrace.
The graphical images of necklaces on the jugs-rhytons nos. 5 and 6 are defined as a summarised composition of two types really existing Early Hellenistic Greek necklaces - a "bearing" part and terminals of the common necklace of beads, fastened with conical finials; and a "suspending" part, taken from another characteristic type - the strap-necklace with firmly attached net of chains with seed-like pendants. Arguments for the date and place of production of the Panagyrishte treasure are looked for in the specific spread of the type in the last third of the 4th century BC in the centres on the West Coast of Asia Minor and the region of the Straits. The medallion-appliqué with a lion's head is considered both with its utilitarian role and as a piece of jewellery - a separately worn medallion with an apotropaic function.
On the base of the performed analysis the following conclusions are formulated. The depicted pieces of jewellery represent really existing patterns popular in the East Greek jewellery fashion of the last third of the 4th century BC. The most indicative is the spread of the pedimental diadem and the strap-necklace with a net of chains. They have numerous representatives in the cities from the West Asia Minor coast, especially from the region of the Straits, but they remained unknown in inner Thrace. The concentration of diadems of this type is remarkable in the cities on the both sides of the Hellespont. The performed observations are adduced as new independent evidence for one of the leading hypotheses placing the artistic centre created the treasure in the region of the Straits and, more precisely, in the cities on the both coasts of the Hellespont.
H. Popov, J. Tzvetkova (Eds.). KRATISTOS. Volume in honour of Professor Peter Delev. Sofia, 553-561, 2017
The collection of the National Archaeological Museum (NAM) keeps a massive bronze finger ring wit... more The collection of the National Archaeological Museum (NAM) keeps a massive bronze finger ring with a relief portrait of a woman with the so-called melon coiffure and a diadem, probably the queen Berenike II. This example belongs to the so called Ptolemaic rings spread after the second quarter of the 3rd and mainly in the late 3rd – early 2nd century BC in the Eastern Mediterranean and primarily in the colonies of the North Black sea coast. This category of rings is considered as an important indicator for Egyptian influence in the Ptolemaic times. The ring from NAM with its formal-stylistic characteristics, as well as according to the composition of the bronze alloy, can be assigned to the production of an Alexandrian workshop. The ring enterеd the collection of NAM in the beginning of the 20th century with a pointed find spot the “Fortress Staklen” 4 km east of the town Svishtov. This is the same place where the remains of the Roman legionary camp and the Early Byzantine town Novae occur. The ring with the depiction of a Ptolemaic queen, as well as a terracotta figurine of a woman with a himation from the same locality, can be associated with existed settlements of the Hellenistic Age, for which there are other data. The finger-ring from Staklen locality near Svishtov increases the number of examples with a portrait of a Ptolemaic queen and adds new territories of their spread – the Hellenistic settlements of the Lower Danube, whose contacts with the South Mediterranean were facilitated by the Greek colonies along the Dobrudzha coast of the Black sea.
Dans: J. L. Martinez, A. Baralis, N. Mathieux, T. Stoyanov. M. Tonkova (Eds). L’épopée des rois thraces des guerres médiques aux invasions celtes 479-278 av. J.-C. Découvertes archéologiques en Bulgarie, Catalogue de exposition, Paris, 2015, 336–317.
In: K. Bacvarov, Ralf Gleser (eds.). Southeast Europe and Anatolia in prehistory: essays in honor of Vassil Nikolov on his 65th anniversary. (Universitätsforschungen zur Prähistorischen Archäologie 293) Bonn: Habelt, 2016, 485-493.
This paper considers the evolution of representative signs of power of the Thracian elite through... more This paper considers the evolution of representative signs of power of the Thracian elite throughout the period of the greatest flourish of the Thracian kingdoms, from the mid-5th to mid-3rd century BC. Gold pectorals, ceremonial headdresses, signet finger-rings, wreaths and horse trappings are discussed with an emphasis in their value as insignia. Two trends are highlighted: (1) aspiration to distinctiveness of the signs of power in the Early Classical period, and (2) use of universal symbols in the second half of the fourth century BC. In the first half of the third century BC, these two tendencies converged in the original gold horse trappings executed in a jewelry style. This process is well evidenced by several finds in the Odrysian lands and is reflected in the Getae territories as well.
A Companion to Ancient Thrace. Edited by Julia Valeva, Emil Nankov, and Denver Graninger. 212-228. (Blackwell Companions to the Ancient World). Malden MA and Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell, 2015
J.L. Martinez, A. Baralis, N.Mathieux, T. Stoyanov. M. Tonkova (edts). L’épopée des rois thraces des guerres médiques aux invasions celtes 479-278 av. J.-C. Découvertes archéologiques en Bulgarie. Louvre Editions, Somology. Edition d’art, Paris, 2015, 197-199., 2015
Belishka Chuka, located 1 km southeast from the town of Belitsa, is perhaps one of the most impor... more Belishka Chuka, located 1 km southeast from the town of Belitsa, is perhaps one of the most important pieces of evidence for the burial practices of the Thracians from the region of the upper reaches of the Mesta River (ancient Nestos), the Western Rhodopes and the Southern Rila Mountain area. It occupies a solitary hill, dominating the valley of the Belishka River. In 1995 and later on, in 2007, during regular archaeological excavations a unique find was made: an almost completely preserved 2500-year-old wooden sarcophagus with remains of an ancient Thracian burial. The sarcophagus is an element of a complex burial construction made of stone plates, covered with heaps of stone and an earth embankment. It dates back to the 5th century BC. The Belishka Chuka burial offers evidence for the economic and political power of the Bessoi, for their contacts with Thracian dynasts from inland Thrace, as well as with the Greeks in the Aegean.
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Papers by Milena Tonkova
The pit sanctuary at the village of Malko Tranovo is one of the most significant cult sites from the Classical and Early Hellenistic Ages in Thrace. In its central part a pit with an artisan’s deposit
from the first half of the 5th century BC has been explored. It contains over 100 finds of metal objects, as well as those of bone, as well as blanks and raw materials. This study presents the results of a project for determination the formal and technological characteristics of bronze products, which make up most of this deposit, by combining archaeological with non-destructive physicochemical methods of analysis. Analyzes were made of a selection of 26 items from the deposit - elements of bronze vessels, jewelry, tools, as well as several finds of copper and lead, which are most informative about the nature of the deposit. Among the most important results are the documented traces of platinum and gold on the work surface of a copper hammer from the deposit. It is probably used to make complex-profiled products of toreutics and jewelry, including such of precious metals.
The crosshatched fields on the jugs-rhytons nos. 5 and 6 are interpreted as short rectangular diadems of the type of those depicted on the earrings with women's heads from Crispiano and the short semitubular diadem found along with them. The distinguished Early Hellenistic pedimental diadem is discerned in the triangular diadem represented on the jug-rhyton no. 7. According to the analysis, not simply a popular model but a really existing piece of jewellery is represented. The stylistical similarity in the rendering of the central palmette allows the diadems of the group of those found in the Dardanos tomb to be accepted as a possible prototype of the depicted diadem. The great number pedimental diadems coming from the both sides of the Hellespont are the main argument in the searching of the artistic centre created the Panagyrishte vessels. It is underlined that diadems of the considered type have not been found in inner Thrace.
The graphical images of necklaces on the jugs-rhytons nos. 5 and 6 are defined as a summarised composition of two types really existing Early Hellenistic Greek necklaces - a "bearing" part and terminals of the common necklace of beads, fastened with conical finials; and a "suspending" part, taken from another characteristic type - the strap-necklace with firmly attached net of chains with seed-like pendants. Arguments for the date and place of production of the Panagyrishte treasure are looked for in the specific spread of the type in the last third of the 4th century BC in the centres on the West Coast of Asia Minor and the region of the Straits. The medallion-appliqué with a lion's head is considered both with its utilitarian role and as a piece of jewellery - a separately worn medallion with an apotropaic function.
On the base of the performed analysis the following conclusions are formulated. The depicted pieces of jewellery represent really existing patterns popular in the East Greek jewellery fashion of the last third of the 4th century BC. The most indicative is the spread of the pedimental diadem and the strap-necklace with a net of chains. They have numerous representatives in the cities from the West Asia Minor coast, especially from the region of the Straits, but they remained unknown in inner Thrace. The concentration of diadems of this type is remarkable in the cities on the both sides of the Hellespont. The performed observations are adduced as new independent evidence for one of the leading hypotheses placing the artistic centre created the treasure in the region of the Straits and, more precisely, in the cities on the both coasts of the Hellespont.
The ring enterеd the collection of NAM in the beginning of the 20th century with a pointed find spot the “Fortress Staklen” 4 km east of the town Svishtov. This is the same place where the remains of the Roman legionary camp and the Early Byzantine town Novae occur. The ring with the depiction of a Ptolemaic queen, as well as a terracotta figurine of a woman with a himation from the same locality, can be associated with existed settlements of the Hellenistic Age, for which there are other data.
The finger-ring from Staklen locality near Svishtov increases the number of examples with a portrait of a Ptolemaic queen and adds new territories of their spread – the Hellenistic settlements of the Lower Danube, whose contacts with the South Mediterranean were facilitated by the Greek colonies along the Dobrudzha coast of the Black sea.
pieces of evidence for the burial practices of the Thracians from the region of the upper reaches of the
Mesta River (ancient Nestos), the Western Rhodopes and the Southern Rila Mountain area. It occupies a
solitary hill, dominating the valley of the Belishka River. In 1995 and later on, in 2007, during regular
archaeological excavations a unique find was made: an almost completely preserved 2500-year-old
wooden sarcophagus with remains of an ancient Thracian burial. The sarcophagus is an element of a complex
burial construction made of stone plates, covered with heaps of stone and an earth embankment. It
dates back to the 5th century BC. The Belishka Chuka burial offers evidence for the economic and political
power of the Bessoi, for their contacts with Thracian dynasts from inland Thrace, as well as with the
Greeks in the Aegean.
The pit sanctuary at the village of Malko Tranovo is one of the most significant cult sites from the Classical and Early Hellenistic Ages in Thrace. In its central part a pit with an artisan’s deposit
from the first half of the 5th century BC has been explored. It contains over 100 finds of metal objects, as well as those of bone, as well as blanks and raw materials. This study presents the results of a project for determination the formal and technological characteristics of bronze products, which make up most of this deposit, by combining archaeological with non-destructive physicochemical methods of analysis. Analyzes were made of a selection of 26 items from the deposit - elements of bronze vessels, jewelry, tools, as well as several finds of copper and lead, which are most informative about the nature of the deposit. Among the most important results are the documented traces of platinum and gold on the work surface of a copper hammer from the deposit. It is probably used to make complex-profiled products of toreutics and jewelry, including such of precious metals.
The crosshatched fields on the jugs-rhytons nos. 5 and 6 are interpreted as short rectangular diadems of the type of those depicted on the earrings with women's heads from Crispiano and the short semitubular diadem found along with them. The distinguished Early Hellenistic pedimental diadem is discerned in the triangular diadem represented on the jug-rhyton no. 7. According to the analysis, not simply a popular model but a really existing piece of jewellery is represented. The stylistical similarity in the rendering of the central palmette allows the diadems of the group of those found in the Dardanos tomb to be accepted as a possible prototype of the depicted diadem. The great number pedimental diadems coming from the both sides of the Hellespont are the main argument in the searching of the artistic centre created the Panagyrishte vessels. It is underlined that diadems of the considered type have not been found in inner Thrace.
The graphical images of necklaces on the jugs-rhytons nos. 5 and 6 are defined as a summarised composition of two types really existing Early Hellenistic Greek necklaces - a "bearing" part and terminals of the common necklace of beads, fastened with conical finials; and a "suspending" part, taken from another characteristic type - the strap-necklace with firmly attached net of chains with seed-like pendants. Arguments for the date and place of production of the Panagyrishte treasure are looked for in the specific spread of the type in the last third of the 4th century BC in the centres on the West Coast of Asia Minor and the region of the Straits. The medallion-appliqué with a lion's head is considered both with its utilitarian role and as a piece of jewellery - a separately worn medallion with an apotropaic function.
On the base of the performed analysis the following conclusions are formulated. The depicted pieces of jewellery represent really existing patterns popular in the East Greek jewellery fashion of the last third of the 4th century BC. The most indicative is the spread of the pedimental diadem and the strap-necklace with a net of chains. They have numerous representatives in the cities from the West Asia Minor coast, especially from the region of the Straits, but they remained unknown in inner Thrace. The concentration of diadems of this type is remarkable in the cities on the both sides of the Hellespont. The performed observations are adduced as new independent evidence for one of the leading hypotheses placing the artistic centre created the treasure in the region of the Straits and, more precisely, in the cities on the both coasts of the Hellespont.
The ring enterеd the collection of NAM in the beginning of the 20th century with a pointed find spot the “Fortress Staklen” 4 km east of the town Svishtov. This is the same place where the remains of the Roman legionary camp and the Early Byzantine town Novae occur. The ring with the depiction of a Ptolemaic queen, as well as a terracotta figurine of a woman with a himation from the same locality, can be associated with existed settlements of the Hellenistic Age, for which there are other data.
The finger-ring from Staklen locality near Svishtov increases the number of examples with a portrait of a Ptolemaic queen and adds new territories of their spread – the Hellenistic settlements of the Lower Danube, whose contacts with the South Mediterranean were facilitated by the Greek colonies along the Dobrudzha coast of the Black sea.
pieces of evidence for the burial practices of the Thracians from the region of the upper reaches of the
Mesta River (ancient Nestos), the Western Rhodopes and the Southern Rila Mountain area. It occupies a
solitary hill, dominating the valley of the Belishka River. In 1995 and later on, in 2007, during regular
archaeological excavations a unique find was made: an almost completely preserved 2500-year-old
wooden sarcophagus with remains of an ancient Thracian burial. The sarcophagus is an element of a complex
burial construction made of stone plates, covered with heaps of stone and an earth embankment. It
dates back to the 5th century BC. The Belishka Chuka burial offers evidence for the economic and political
power of the Bessoi, for their contacts with Thracian dynasts from inland Thrace, as well as with the
Greeks in the Aegean.