Changes in the Weight of the Panagyurishte Treasure Over the Years
And so… the difference in the weight of the Panagyurishte Treasure over the years is a topic that raises many questions and generates great interest among researchers and the public. This difference is closely related to its illegal acquisition and the ways in which the treasure was recorded in official registers. In this section, we will examine how the weight of the Panagyurishte Treasure has changed over time and how these changes were reflected in the documentation.
Initial Measurements of the Panagyurishte Treasure
According to the initial data from the measurement of the Panagyurishte Treasure immediately after its discovery on December 8, 1949, its weight was 7,500 grams. The measurement was carried out by the then curator of the Panagyurishte Museum, Petar Gorbanov, who graduated in archaeology in Vienna. He was the first to date the treasure to around 400 B.C. He also issued the first document recording the treasure with its total weight. It is important to note that the treasure had been washed several times before its first measurement.
How Illegal Acquisition Affected the Measurements
On December 29, 1949, the treasure was registered illegally in the National Archaeological Museum in Plovdiv. Not as a collection, but as separate items, each with its own inventory number – from No. 3196 to No. 3204. The method by which the museum acquired it was not recorded, and there was no transfer protocol. After this registration in the National Archaeological Museum in Plovdiv, the treasure was measured. Its weight went from 6,166.50 g, and continued changing until 2013, when it was measured at 6,192.70 g.
(Table of different measurements over the years)
During the next time the treasure left the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria, it was noted that the Panagyurishte Gold Treasure had a new total weight again. This is particularly interesting since between 2011 and 2015 no conservation or restoration interventions were carried out. Confirmation of this appears in a letter from the National Historical Museum in Sofia.
This difference in the weight of the Panagyurishte Treasure is only part of its history. Its illegal acquisition and subsequent measurements over the years raise even more questions about its true value and condition.
The Panagyurishte Treasure in Paris – Louvre
In the documentation for the 2015 exhibition in Paris – Louvre, entitled “Epic of the Thracian Kings – Archaeological Discoveries in Bulgaria”, a new weight for the treasure’s items was indicated – 6,158.83 g.
The most striking detail is the total weight. There, the weight of the treasure differs by 1,307.3 grams between the first measurement and that of 2012; between the first and the last measurement, it differs by 1,341.17 grams, and the maximum difference is 1,520.5 grams.
It is notable that the difference shows a decrease. An interesting detail is that when the treasure was entered into the State Museum Fund, manual corrections to the items’ weight were made without certification. It was explicitly noted that the changes were “unknown when and by whom.”
Illegal Acquisition of the Panagyurishte Treasure
When the treasure was entered into all state registers and presented to the public, the date of discovery, the exact location, the method of acquisition by the state, and the names of the discoverers were permanently omitted. These are mandatory attributes in the descriptions of scientific museum archives, but they are missing. In exhibitions abroad, it is emphasized that the Panagyurishte Treasure is an archaeological value, i.e., found by archaeologists during excavations.
This falsehood is repeated again and again, even in the name of the 2015 exhibition featuring the Panagyurishte Gold Treasure at the Louvre.
Listing only the data for the total weight changing over the years leads to the conclusion that something irregular is happening. Whether it is an error in measurement or the treasure cannot yet be washed properly, we can only speculate.
Literature:
Panagyurishte Gold Treasure – Dr. Pavel Ivanov Tsvetankov
Media:
Panagyurishte Gold Treasure – Dr. Pavel Ivanov Tsvetankov
Authorial material – Dr. Pavel Tsvetankov
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