The museum in Varna opened a campaign for the necropolis, where the oldest gold was discovered 52 years ago

The object is public state property, granted to the municipality

One of the world’s most significant discoveries – the Varna Necropolis, is getting weeded instead of attracting tourists from all over the world and bringing glory to our maritime capital. For this reason, archaeologists from the historical museum in Varna decided to announce a fundraising campaign to be able to continue the work of researching the artifacts. (For more about the necropolis, see the box below.)

To begin with, BGN 50,000, necessary for one month of excavations, must be collected.

“There is no in the municipal budget for this year
staked money for the necropolis

We had a meeting with the chairman of the municipal council Hristo Dimitrov, we hope that during the update in the summer money will be voted for us as well.

In the section that is currently fenced off, we have work for a month and a half. Then we have to move to the northern sections. If the graves are shallow, we will dig them up quickly. In general, about 6 months should be enough to study the eastern half of the necropolis in the state section, which has been granted to us until the end of 2026,” explained to “24 Chasa” the head of the studies, Dr. Vladimir Slavchev, who is part from the museum team.

The municipality replied that no request for funding excavations had been received.

In the first season, 10 graves were studied, in the second – 5, and in the last – 11.

Since 1991, the necropolis has not been excavated

After a 30-year hiatus, the “First Varna Necropolis” association, founded by the former regional governor Yani Yanev, and the archaeologists from the Regional History Museum (RIM) began cleaning it in 2020, the municipality helped, but not enough.

“It was very neglected – there were snakes, lizards and wasps. We had to work with special clothing. We described the trees, restored the old geodesic network of the first excavations made by Ivan Ivanov, so that the new one could be built,” says Yanev.

Vladimir Slavchev contacts companies from the Western Industrial Zone, which are involved with financial support. Some pay for security equipment – video surveillance, barrier, internet, electricity and water. The team consists of 10 archaeologists and 12 excavation workers.

The necropolis is public state property, provided for the management of the Varna municipality, which concludes a management contract with RIM. The state provided funds for only one month through the “Culture” fund.

“We cannot understand the wealth under our feet. This is a misconception that has been going on for years. It is absurd not to understand that this is the only thing that makes our country unique in the world,” says Yani Yanev.

The gold found in our country is 6 kg, and in the whole world –
only 700 grams

processed between the 5th and 4th millennium BC.

“Here is the mecca of world civilization. We couldn’t understand that the present could profit from the past. And there is nothing there right now. The graves that have been excavated and studied have been covered back with soil to preserve them. The artifacts are taken to the museum for research.

However, the road to the queues of tourists is long. Students from VSU made brilliant conceptual projects of the potential opportunity for socialization of the necropolis, but there is still a long way to go before their realization,” Yanev said.

According to him, first a territorial planning project should be drawn up, then a competition for socialization should be held and when there are ready projects, European funding should also be sought. Before this is not possible.

“The EC had 70 billion euros for historical heritage,

from which we cannot take a penny. If the current administration understands the importance of what we have and implements this technological project, which is only within the municipality, then money will be sought from Europe,” Yanev added.

“We are committed to finding sustainable sources of funding for this type of activity. Therefore, we expect assistance from the RIM management, which is mainly expressed in the requests for funding through the municipal budget to be submitted in a timely manner.

The announced campaign is completely within the museum’s operating regulations. We support it and call on citizens to participate in it,” commented the municipality.

The Varna Chalcolithic Necropolis illustrates the first stages of the emergence of a class society, a testimony to the emergence of the first civilization.

Gold objects show the social status of their owners, not an expression of their wealth. Inhabitants of the socio-economic center of the highly developed community inhabiting the North-West Black Sea coast are probably buried here.

Excavations of the necropolis, with several interruptions, lasted 13 seasons in the period from 1972 to 1991. In total, an area of ​​7,500 square meters was excavated.

The complex remains among the most significant and remarkable for prehistory

The Varna Chalcolithic Necropolis was discovered accidentally during excavations in the Western Industrial Zone of Varna in the fall of 1972.

Already in the first graves, an incredible amount of gold and copper items was found, which immediately caused a media and scientific sensation worldwide.

Dated to the Late Stone-Copper Age, the necropolis reveals the picture of a rich society of members of diverse social and material status, with a complex organization and established power structures.

With the variety of burial practices and the huge number of finds of various materials, the Varna Chalcolithic necropolis remains the most remarkable and significant monument of prehistory not only in the Balkans and Europe, but also in the whole world.

Experts are stunned by the scale of the grave goods. 3000 gold items weighing more than 6 kg.