Sofia, June 16, (BTA/GNA) – The National Archaeological Museum’s June exhibit is a flower-shaped silver earring from the 3rd millennium BC. The ornament can be seen in the Prehistory Hall of the museum’s permanent exhibition.
The earring was found accidentally in the northeastern Bulgarian region of Shoumen. The earring has four leaves that resemble those of the olive tree or oleander, each one longitudinal relief line. One end of each leaf is soldered to a ball which is attached to tapered round earwire.
Only one other known ornament from the 3rd millennium BC has a similar shape: a gold earring from an Early Minoan tomb on the island of Mochlos near Crete, which is now on display at the archaeological museum in Heraklion. The Minoan ornament has gold leaves attached to silver earwire.
Floral motifs are typical of Early Minoan jewellery schools.
Researchers believe that the Mochlos-type ornament found in the Shoumen area might have been brought to these lands from Crete, indicating a possible trade route from Crete to the Lower Danube/Transylvania via Eastern Thrace.
Experts note that the 3rd millennium BC was a time when creativity and artistry flourished, along with the exchange of raw materials, ideas, technologies, scholars say. It was a time of long-distance trade and contacts. All these factors had an impact on the emergence of civilisations and the development of jewellery production, the Archaeological Museum experts say.
GNA
Credit: BTA