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Ancient ‘Olympic’ riches unearthed

PostPosted: Sun Sep 19, 2004 5:56 pm
by Quintus Aurelius Orcus
khairete

In Bulgaria they have found a golden mask of a Thracian king dating back to 2400 years ago.
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Ancient `Olympic' riches unearthed
Thracian mask and ring date back 2,400 years

SHIPKA, Bulgaria - A Bulgarian archaeologist has unearthed an ancient
gold mask and a ring featuring an "Olympic" rower in what he called
an unrivaled find in the study of classical antiquity.

Georgi Kitov told Reuters Friday that the artifacts were from the 5th
century B.C. and likely belonged to a leader of the Thracians, the
dispersed tribes who once lived in parts of what is now modern-day
Bulgaria, Romania, Macedonia, Turkey and Greece.

"The mask is a portrait of a Thracian king, from what I believe is
the tomb of Teres," Kitov said.

He said the portrait, found Thursday, may be a more significant find
than the so-called Mask of Agamemnon, one of the most famous images
of Greek antiquity and centerpiece of the National Archaeological
Museum in Athens.

"It is sensational and has no comparison in the world," he said. "The
Mask of Agamemnon was made of gold foil and weighs only 60 grams [2.1
ounces], while this mask weighs 690 grams [24 ounces] and is of solid
gold."
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The whole article on the discovery can be found here:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5772957/

Romulus