Unearthed near the city of Cluj, this cache includes a ring with spiraled ends that's unlike anything ever unearthed in the region as well as 116 small loops featuring engraved patterns that may have been worn as earrings.
Știrile Pro-TVOne of the 121 gold objects from the Bronze Age recently found by a metal detectorist near Cluj, Romania.
While treasure-hunting in Cluj County, Romania, a metal detectorist stumbled upon a hoard of ancient relics. To the delight of local historians, it soon became clear that the metal detectorist had found more than 100 golden artifacts that are believed to date all the way back to the Bronze Age.
Though their backstory remains shrouded in mystery, these objects are nevertheless a thrilling find, and historians are already calling them “priceless [and] very, very important.”
The Hoard Of Bronze Age Gold Discovered In Northwestern Romania
According to Știrile Pro-TV, this Bronze Age trove was found completely by chance. They were detected by a treasure-hunter who happened to stumble across the hoard while out with their metal detector.
Știrile Pro-TVThe metal detectorist who recently unearthed the hoard of gold relics.
The metal detectorist found 121 golden objects in all, and experts believe they date back to somewhere between 1400 and 1200 B.C.E. The hoard was brought to the National Museum of Transylvanian History, and historians as well as other officials have since been awestruck by this unprecedented discovery.
“The value is truly inestimable, considering both the age and the work itself,” said Andras Demeter, Minister of Culture. “The national territory continues to present and show us such surprises.”
After examining the hoard, historians at the museum have come to believe that these pieces are mostly jewelry, and many of them appear to be earrings. One of the most eye-catching objects, however, is a spiral ring.
Știrile Pro-TVThe hoard contains 121 “priceless” objects.
“[The] ring… we still have no analogues in Romania,” said museum curator Malvinka Urak. “It is made of a thicker gold wire, with spiral ends, 116 are small vertices decorated with incisions, they can be interpreted as earrings. We also have prehistoric gold pieces in the museum’s collection, but not such rich treasures. They are priceless, very, very important.”
Next, the objects will be restored at the National Museum of Transylvanian History. Then, they will be more closely examined by experts before they hopefully go on public display.
“Following research, the pieces will probably be included in the museum’s collection,” said Victor Cubleșan, director of the Cluj County Department of Culture. “They are pieces that the public should see, being both spectacular and beautiful.”
The Mystery Behind This 3,400-Year-Old Hoard Of Gold Relics
Știrile Pro-TVMost of the treasure hoard contains round golden objects like these, which historians believe may be earrings.
By the time these gold pieces were created, the land that became present-day Romania was rapidly changing. Migratory Indo-Europeans had arrived in the area around 2000 B.C.E., where they coexisted with Neolithic people, likely leading to the formation of the Thracian civilization. Their descendants would make contact with the Greeks in the 5th century B.C.E.
But given that little is known about the early settlers of Romania, and Cluj County specifically, it’s difficult to speculate about the owner of these newly-unearthed gold pieces — and what happened to that person.
Why were these pieces created, and who did they belong to? Did they serve a ritualistic purpose, or did they simply fill an aesthetic role? And why were they buried? What caused their owner to abandon such wealth? Invaders? Or something else?
It’s possible that some of these questions will be answered once the gold pieces are more closely examined. For now, however, this remarkable Bronze Age hoard belongs to a large contingent of treasures that have been found by metal detectorists in recent years.
Recently, metal detectorists in England have found Roman coins and Viking artifacts, and two metal detectorists in Belgium even came across a cache of World War II weapons.
Discoveries like this prove once again that history — even very ancient history, dating back thousands of years — is not that far out of reach. It might take only a metal detector, and a bit of luck, to uncover some truly incredible artifacts from our shared human past.
After reading about the treasure hoard of Bronze Age gold objects found in Romania, discover the eerie story of Hoia-Baciu, the creepy “haunted” forest of Romania. Then, see how Bran Castle in Romania became the inspiration for Count Dracula’s iconic abode.
