The Varna Necropolis: Prehistoric Graves Full of Gold
The Varna Necropolis is a prehistoric cemetery in the western industrial zone of Varna, a few kilometres from the city centre. Its graves, dug in the Copper Age, yielded roughly six kilograms of gold and are counted among the key sites of world prehistory. There is little to look at on the ground, but the finds in the city's museum make it one of the most rewarding stops for anyone curious about early Europe.
A digger driver laying a cable trench in 1972 hit graves from the fifth millennium BC, and with them about 3,000 gold objects. Some of the richest graves held no body at all.
The history of the Varna Necropolis
The story begins in October 1972, when excavator operator Raycho Marinov was digging a trench for an underground cable in the western industrial zone of Varna. In the spoil he noticed metal objects and stone tools, and he handed what he had found to museum curators. On 30 October the first artefacts reached the Varna Archaeological Museum, and archaeologists soon established that the machine had cut into a Copper Age cemetery; one grave had already been destroyed. Systematic excavation followed under Mihail Lazarov and, above all, Ivan Ivanov, and it continued with interruptions until 1991.
Close to 300 graves were recorded, and roughly 30 per cent of the cemetery has still not been dug. They belong to the Varna culture, the local form of the Kodzadermen–Gumelnitsa–Karanovo VI complex of the Chalcolithic, and radiocarbon dating places the burials between about 4600 and 4300 BC. Some of the dead lay crouched on one side, others stretched out on their backs. Pottery, flint and obsidian blades, copper tools, beads and shells fill the graves, but the gold is what made the site famous: more than 3,000 objects weighing about six kilograms, from diadems and bracelets to tiny beads and bull-shaped plaques sewn on clothing.
The wealth is strikingly uneven. Three graves held more than half of all the gold, and each contained a sceptre. Grave 43 held the skeleton of a man of about forty to fifty, surrounded by 990 gold objects weighing some 1.5 kilograms, a sceptre resembling a battle-axe and copper tools; scholars have read him as a clan chief, a priest or a goldsmith. Many of the richest graves, however, contained no body: these symbolic graves, or cenotaphs, were furnished with gold, and three of them held masks of lightly fired clay decorated with gold. A string of short cylindrical gold beads from Grave 3 is regarded as the earliest known gold jewellery.
The objects also show how far the community reached. Copper came from deposits near Stara Zagora, salt perhaps from the rock-salt mine at Provadia, and Spondylus shells from the Mediterranean may have served as a simple kind of currency. Some researchers see contacts as distant as the lower Volga and the Cyclades. Taken together, the graves are read as evidence of beliefs about an afterlife and of marked differences in status, among the oldest known burial evidence of an elite man.
The Varna gold began touring the world in 1973 and was shown for seven months in Japan in 1982, with wide publicity. It was later seen in many other countries and, in 1998 and 1999, for the first time in the United States. Today the objects can be seen in the Varna Archaeological Museum and the National Historical Museum in Sofia, while debate continues over how to interpret the society that buried its dead this way.
Curious facts about the Varna Necropolis
- The cemetery was found by accident: the excavator driver who spotted metal in his spoil heap on a cable trench in October 1972 is credited with the discovery.
- Several of the gold-richest graves were symbolic and held no skeleton at all, only offerings and, in three cases, clay masks with gold decoration.
- Grave 43 alone contained 990 gold objects, more gold than the rest of the cemetery put together.
- Mediterranean Spondylus shells found in the graves may have worked as a primitive form of money.
- Carnelian beads from the graves have a regular 32 facets, considered probably the earliest such faceting on a stone as hard as chalcedony.
- In 1982 the finds were exhibited in Japan for seven months as “The Oldest Gold in the World”, and the show prompted two full-length TV documentaries.
Tours near Varna Necropolis
Experiences in the area that you can book online with Viator:
Visiting the Varna Necropolis and its finds
- The best of the gold is displayed in the Varna Archaeological Museum, with further objects in the National Historical Museum in Sofia; check the current opening hours before you go.
- The cemetery itself lies in an industrial zone beside Lake Varna. The sources do not describe visitor facilities at the site, so it is wise to ask locally before making a special trip.
- About 30 per cent of the burial area has still not been excavated, so the picture of the site may yet change.
- In and around Varna you can combine the visit with the Roman Thermae (about 5 km), the Euxinograd palace (about 11 km) and Aladzha Monastery (about 14 km).
Opening hours, access and conditions can change. Check before you go.
Map: where Varna Necropolis is
Photos of Varna Necropolis
Questions
What is the Varna Necropolis?
It is a Copper Age cemetery in the western industrial zone of Varna, famous for about 3,000 gold objects. It is counted among the key archaeological sites of world prehistory.
How old is the Varna Necropolis gold?
Radiocarbon dates place the graves between about 4600 and 4300 BC. The gold is often called the oldest worked gold in the world.
How much gold was found at Varna?
Archaeologists recovered more than 3,000 gold objects with a combined weight of roughly six kilograms. Grave 43 alone held 990 objects.
Where can you see the Varna gold?
The finds are shown in the Varna Archaeological Museum and in the National Historical Museum in Sofia. Check the current opening hours before you go.
Who discovered the Varna Necropolis?
It was found by chance in October 1972 by excavator operator Raycho Marinov. Excavations were then led by Mihail Lazarov and Ivan Ivanov.
Why are some graves in Varna empty?
Some graves contain no skeleton but only grave goods, and are known as cenotaphs or symbolic graves. They are among the richest in gold.
Also nearby
Roman Thermae in Varna
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Euxinograd
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Aladzha Monastery
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Marcianopolis
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