Ancient Gold: Greek Gold Diadems

Greek Gold Diadem with Leaves, Carnelian Cabochons and a Horse with Rider, Panticapaeum, 3rd Century BC

A diadem is a type of crown, specifically an ornamental headband worn by monarchs and others as a badge of royalty.

The term originally referred to the embroidered white silk ribbon, ending in a knot and two fringed strips often draped over the shoulders, that surrounded the head of the king to denote his authority. Such ribbons were also used to crown victorious athletes in important sports games in antiquity.

An impressive gold diadem with repousse rosettes and thin sheets applied at the top. Grave III (Grave of the Women), Grave Circle A, Mycenae, 16th.cent BC.

High-ranking or wealthy Greek women often wore elaborate diadems and hairnets of gold and gemstones as part of their jewelry. Due to its protective quality, it also became important in marriage symbolism and was a common motif for women's jewelry of the Hellenistic period, and in royal Macedonian art more generally.

Remarkable gold elliptical funeral diadems, leaves, wheels, cups, earrings, pendants and pins from Shaft Grave III, "Grave of the Women", Grave Circle A, Mycenae. 1600-1500 BC. National Archaeological Museum, Athens.

adorned the head of the buried Mycenean Princes

A diadem is also a jeweled ornament in the shape of a half crown, worn by women and placed over the forehead (in this sense, also called tiara).
In some societies, it may be a wreath worn around the head. The ancient Persians wore a high and erect royal tiara encircled with a diadem. Hera, queen of the Greek gods, wore a golden crown called the diadem.

Two gold diadems from Grave Circle A at Mycenae.

Mycenaean Sheet Gold Diadem Plaque, 2nd ML BC

The shape of this diadem is very similar to the one found by Heinrich Schliemann in the 1876 in Grave Circle A Grave III at the palace of Mycenae except that diadem included seven spear shaped attachments that gave the impression of a sunburst.

By extension, "diadem" can be used generally for an emblem of regal power or dignity. The head regalia worn by Roman Emperors, from the time of Diocletian onwards, is described as a diadem in the original sources.

This highly detailed embossed sheet of gold is a diadem from Mycenae that was crafted around 1600-1500 BC.

It may be a funerary diadem ...  “The headband is made of thin sheet gold and tapers at both ends. These durable objects decorated the hair of the living, but a diadem from Shaft Grave IV must have adorned the head of someone who had already died.”

Treasures of the Sarmatians : Horse Cover

Accomplished horse-breeders and horsemen, Sarmatians were nomadic Indo-European tribes closely related to the Scythians.

The Roman historian Ammianus Marcellinus describes Sarmatian tribesmen as “tall and handsome, their hair inclines to blond; by the ferocity of their gaze they inspire dread. They delight in danger and warfare.”

A fascinating feature of Sarmatian society was the high status accorded to women. Sarmatian warrior queens were renowned in antiquity. Herodotus affirmed that the Sarmatians were descendants of the Amazons and Scythians, whose women “frequently hunted on horseback with their husbands; in war taking the field; and wore the very same dress as the men.” The Sarmatian tradition had it that “no girl should wed till she had killed a man in battle.” In ancient kurgans, sumptuous female burials often included swords and arrowheads together with elegant jewelry inlaid with dazzling gems in the Hellenistic style. Eastern campaigns of Alexander the Great (356-323 BC) spread Greek influences throughout his huge empire and exposed local artisans to new styles. The composite style that emerged is known as Hellenistic.

The Sarmatians were overrun by the invasions of the Goths and Huns in the 3rd and 4th centuries AD. The intense multi-ethnic encounter on the steppe resulted in a complex mix of cultures and artistic styles, evident in the artifacts found in the region.

The horse-cover consists of more than 15,500 golden links. Was found in the city of Azov .

Vratsa Gold Treasure

The most impressive treasures of Ancient Thrace – the Mogilanska Mound treasure.

The 2,500-year-old Mogilanska Mound Treasure, also known as the Vratsa Gold Treasure, was found during the excavations of an Ancient Thracian burial mound in the downtown of Vratsa back in 1965.

a model reconstruction of the princess’s face based on the skull discovered in one of the Mogilanska Mound tombs created by renowned Bulgarian anthropologist Prof. Yordan Yordanov.

In addition to the human and horse skeletons and the chariots discovered in the mound’s three tombs, the archaeologists also found a treasure consisting of a golden laurel wreath, 47 gold appliqués, 2 golden earrings, 4 silver phialae, a silver jug, a rhyton-shaped amphora, and 50 clay figures. The Mogilanska Mound is believed to have been a royal tomb of the ruling dynasty of the Ancient Thracian tribe Triballi which inhabited the region of Northwest Bulgaria more than 2,000 years ago.

The elaborate gold earrings of the Thracian princess

The most valuable artifact from the Vratsa Gold Treasure is the golden laurel wreath which decorated the head of an Ancient Thracian princess.

The golden laurel wreath worn by a Thracian princess from the Triballi tribe which was discovered in the Mogilanska Mound in Bulgaria’s Vratsa

Another one of the most impressive items from the Vratsa Gold Treasure is a gold-plated silver greave (knee-piece) featuring the image of the Mother Goddess.

The forehead of the Mother Goddess depicted on the greave is decorated with a wreath, and her ears – with earrings.

 Interestingly, the other decorations such as the golden earrings and the golden laurel wreath found inside the Mogilanska Mound seem to mimic the decorations depicted in the greave image of the goddess.

The unique craftsmanship of the greave has led the archaeologists to conclude that it was the work of a local Ancient Thracian craftsman.

The Mother Goddess depicted on the greave wears a laurel wreath with gold leaves and golden earrings that are just like the wreath and earrings found inside the tomb of the Thracian princess. Photo: TV grab from BNT 2

This gold-plated silver greave (knee-piece)

Gold Jug

O Golden mask of Teres I, the first ruler of the Odrysian kingdom

The King Teres’ Gold Mask – a Masterpiece of the Thracian Craftmanship

“This is a unique mask and it looks even better than the famous image of king Agamemnon”, said the archeologist prof. Kitov, who discovered it, referring to the mask of Agamemnon, gound by Schliemann in Mycenae.

It is a 2400-year-old life-size mask made of 23.5-carat gold and weighing 672 g (1.48 lb). The mask belonged to king Teres I (450 – 431 BC) and was unearthed in a mound at the Valley of the Thracian kings, Kazanlak region in August, 2004. The sensational archaeological discovery was made by Prof. Georgi Kitov (1943 – 2008) and his team. According to him, “There have been other gold masks discovered, but all of them are made of foil-thin gold. Gold masks with this shape and weight are absolutely unknown”. Besides the king Teres mask, the archaeologists excavated more than 130 precious items including jewelry, weaponry and ritual vessels.

Golden royal ring IV c. BC Gold ring ,dating from the IV c. BC, found in a Thracian king's tomb near Zlatinitsa, Bulgaria The miniature scene of his plate represents the Great Mother Goddess, skid glass of wine the king himself.

The Valley of Thracian Kings Thracian gold shell

Five golden earrings from the Thracian tombs in cemeteries Duvanlii (5-4 c. BC.)

 In a second mound nearby, called Golyamata Kosmatka (literally meaning “The Big Hairy”), Georgi Kitov chanced upon another treasure trove of 73 gold and silver pieces, including a gold wreath and horse trappings, a visor, gold ornaments of a sword and gold horse harness.

Visor

In addition, the archeologists also found a golden ring, apparently portraying an Olympic rower.

Dozens of Thracian mounds are spread throughout this Bulgarian region, which archaeologists have called ‘The Valley of the Thracian Kings,’ a reference to the Valley of the Kings near Luxor, which is home to the tombs of Egyptian pharaohs.

As a result of all the archaeological discoveries made at the Valley of the Thracian Kings, Bulgaria has proposed that UNESCO should inscribe the Valley on its World Heritage List.

(Sources: Treasures Fit for the Kings, by Jumana Farouky, TIME magazine, May 29, 2005)