ABOUT PRESLAV TREASURE
The Preslav Treasure was found in 1978, 3 km to the north - west of the second Bulgarian capital –
Veliki Preslav. It consists of more than 150 luxurious adornments, buttons and appliques for decoration of expensive clothes. The Preslav gold treasure is connected with the life and the high cultural achievements in Simeon’s capital city - Veliki Preslav. It is one of the biggest and most interesting finds discovered recently in Bulgaria. Concealed during the turbulent events of 971, the treasure is also a testimony of the treasures enmassed in the capital of the Bulgarians in the 9th- 10th centuries. The excavations helped explain some curious and important facts. First, there was an old-Bulgarian settlement in Castana, which was a suburb of the capital, Preslav. Second, there are signs of the town being destroyed by fire for which we find proof in the records of Byzantine authors who were contemporaries of the town’ s conquering in 972. Third, the valuable articles from the treasure were hidden in a mason furnace of a humble poor man’s hut in the village. With its unique beauty and exquisiteness, some of its parts will always be the central point of the attention of the researchers of Old Bulgarian culture and will point to the high artistic achievements in the sphere of goldsmith’s medieval art. It consists of 10th - century ladies’ jewels made in Konstantinopolus and Preslav, but it also includes artifacts dating far back to the period between 3 rd and 7 th centuries. The latter suggests their owners’ taste to old and luxurious articles. The Preslav Treasure is a brilliant example of the adornments worn in the 10th century by the Bulgarian ruler and by the feudal aristocracy attendant to the court.
Part of the Preslav treasure is the double - faced necklace dating from the end of 9th - first half of 10 th centuries. The Preslav workshops for painted ceramics produced luxurious table vessels and floor facing to decorate the imposing public buildings.
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