TREASURES AND EVIDENCE

Panagyurishte

Panagyurishte: drinking between gods and animals

The containers have human and animal shapes; some served the liquid through a small lower hole.

Museum documentation · free public access, no account required.

**PHOTOGRAPH OF THE ORIGINAL · CC BY 3.0 · NATIVE RESOLUTION 765 × 1120 PX**
Documentary original · Exact correspondence
One of the rhytons from the Panagyurishte treasure. The image shows a component of the set of nine vessels. Institutional photograph by Nikolay Genov, distributed through Europeana; preserve credit. Photograph preserved at native resolution of 765 × 1120 px; Limited detail when enlarged, without inventing or artificially increasing the resolution.
Nikolay Genov · CC BY 3.0
Source and provenance ↗Terms of use ↗

History and context

These vessels forced us to drink in a different way. In the rhytons, the liquid entered through an upper opening and exited through a small hole near the base. Human and animal heads transformed the gesture of serving wine into an exhibition of skill, wealth and shared knowledge.

The treasure brings together forms from Persian tradition and images from the Greek repertoire in a context of Thracian use. This combination reveals connections of the aristocracy with its neighbors. We do not know the owner: it could have been a ruler, a powerful family or a shrine.

Evidence and interpretation

Nine vessels; owner, exact workshop and cause of concealment not proven. Collection, loans and exhibition of copies must be distinguished.

Catalogue facts

Date: late 4th century – early 3rd century BCE, towards 300 BCE
Location: Panagyurishte · Bulgaria

A SHARED TOPIC, DIFFERENT MOMENTS

Objects connected through time

Follow a topic across the collections. A shared tag is a way to compare objects, not proof that one culture influenced another.

The order uses the midpoint of each approximate date range; ranges can overlap. Spacing does not represent elapsed time. Swipe, scroll or use the arrows. With the sequence focused, use ← / →, Home or End.

You are viewing

late 4th century – early 3rd century BCE, towards 300 BCE

Panagyurishte

Thracians

«Towards 300 BCE.» It is explicit orientation of the whole.

Current record

Gold32 dated objects

28 / 32In the centre: Panagyurishte

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Vessels

Before Sumer · mid-6th–5th millennium BCE · Sumer
Twin-chambered vessel from Cova de l’Or · Early Neolithic · VI–V millennia BCE · Prehistory
Before Egypt · ca. 4400–3800 BCE · Ancient Egypt
Before Nubia · V–IV millennium BCE · Nubia, Kerma and Kush
Before Gojoseon · Middle Neolithic, c. 4000 BCE · Gojoseon and early Korea
Bevel-rimmed bowl · ca. 3500–3000 BCE · Sumer
Uruk Vase · ca. 3300–3000 BCE · Sumer
Before Yayoi · Middle Jōmon, ca. 3000 BCE · Yayoi Japan
Vasiliki · ca. 2500–2200 BCE · Greek worlds
Before the Greeks · c. 2400–2200 BCE · Greek worlds
Before Ancient China · c. 2500–2000 BCE · Ancient China
Longshan · c. 2500–2000 BCE · Ancient China
Kerma vessel · c. 1802–1640 BCE · Nubia, Kerma and Kush
Grave Circle A and Chrysolakkos · 18th–16th centuries BCE · Greek worlds
Before Vedic India · c. 1900–1300 BCE · Vedic and later Indian worlds
Jue · c. sixteenth century BCE · Ancient China
Pithos · c. 1450–1375 BCE · Greek worlds
Tutankhamun's grave goods · death towards 1323 BCE · Ancient Egypt
Stag Vessel · 14th–13th centuries BCE · Hittites
Valchitran · second half of the 14th century–beginning of the 13th century BCE, according to NAIM; other publications use wider intervals from the Late Bronze. · Thracians
Liding · 12th–11th centuries BCE · Ancient China
Before the Iberias · Final Bronze, c. 1000 BCE · Iberians
Grey bowl from Hastinapura · c. 1100–800 BCE in the classical sequence of Hastinapura · Vedic and later Indian worlds
Before Etruscans and Rome · ca. 850–800 BCE · Etruscans and Rome
The urn under the helmet · 9th–8th centuries BCE · Etruscans and Rome
Tomb 1 at Kuntur Wasi · c. 800 BCE · Pre-Inca cultures
Regolini-Galassi tomb · ca. 675–650 BCE · Etruscans and Rome
The great Greek krater of Vix · ≈530–500 BCE · Greek worlds
Scorțaru cauldron · 6th–5th centuries BCE · Thracians
Vix Tomb · c. 500 BCE · Celtic worlds
Orpheus among the Thracians · circa 440 BCE; attributed to the London Painter E 497. · Thracians
Twenty-six voiceless signs · 5th–4th centuries BCE · Scythians and Saka
Rogozen · mainly 5th–4th centuries BCE; The set has a history of accumulation, not a single manufacturing date. · Thracians
Grave goods of Baza and Toya · First half of the 4th century BCE · Iberians
The Attic krater that took on a new life in Cástulo · 4th century BCE · Greek worlds
The silver amphora of Chertomlyk · 4th century BCE · Greek worlds
The Kul-Oba vase · 4th century BCE · Greek worlds
Faces of the Steppe · Second half of the 4th century BCE · Scythians and Saka
Poroina Mare Rhyton · Second half of the 4th century BCE · Thracians
Borovo · 4th century BC C.; 350–300 BCE in the ISAW catalog. · Thracians
Leipzig Fish Plate · Last third 4th–early 3rd century BCE · Greek worlds
Golyamata Kosmatka · End of the 4th century – beginning of the 3rd century BCE; ritual burial at the beginning of the III according to Iskra. · Thracians
Panagyurishte · late 4th century – early 3rd century BCE, towards 300 BCE · Thracians — You are viewing
Dove of the Amarejo · 3rd century BCE · Iberians
Mairena Hoard · 3rd century BCE · Iberians
Vase from Chão de Lamas · Piece: III–II centuries BCE · concealment ≈110–76 BCE · Iberians
Vas dels Guerrers · 3rd–early 2nd century BCE · Iberians
Warriors' Vase · 3rd–2nd centuries BCE · Iberians
The dismantled cauldron · 2nd–1st centuries BCE · Celtic worlds
Kalathos of Alcorisa · 2nd–1st centuries BCE · Iberians
Patera from Perotito · Second half of the 2nd–beginnings of the 1st century BCE · Iberians
Urewe vessel · regional range c. 800 BCE–650 CE · Bantu-speaking worlds
Two rows of coffins · Mainly Middle Yayoi, 2nd century BCE–1st century CE · Yayoi Japan
Ceramics that continued · Last third of the 2nd century BCE–1st century CE · Iberians
Roman glass oinochoe · Late 1st century BCE–early 1st century CE · Etruscans and Rome
Gladiators Cup of Chavagnes · 25–75 CE · Etruscans and Rome
Egyptian oil lamp with a fish, held in Laon · 3rd–4th centuries CE · Ancient Egypt
Laon lamp with fish · 3rd–4th centuries CE · Etruscans and Rome
Water in a shell · 1816–1826 · San histories

Without a comparable date (not part of the chronological order):

A Kerma vessel deposited at Abydos · Second Intermediate Period · Ancient Egypt
A tradition that invents · collected in 1993 or 1995 · Batwa / Twa histories
A vase travels; the rite changes · No individual dating published on this record · Iberians
Early pottery · before ca. 9400 cal BCE · Mande Worlds
Liédena Flask · Roman period · individual chronology not published in the entry · Etruscans and Rome
Made in Garama · I millennium BCE–I millennium CE · Garamantes
Oil in a calabash · ca. 1947 · Batwa / Twa histories
The unfinished gesture · 1947 · Batwa / Twa histories
Travelling objects · Mainly Roman period · Garamantes
Urns from Adichanallur · Iron Age · samples towards 665 and 467 BCE · Vedic and later Indian worlds
Vessels without a language · Urewe, broad regional range ca. 800 BCE–650 CE · Bantu-speaking worlds

Metalworking

The Gold of Varna · Towards 4600–4200 BCE · Thracians
Before Phoenicia · 20th–18th centuries BCE · Phoenicians
Valchitran · second half of the 14th century–beginning of the 13th century BCE, according to NAIM; other publications use wider intervals from the Late Bronze. · Thracians
Gold at Kuntur Wasi · c. 800–550 BCE · Pre-Inca cultures
Condomina Earring · 6th century BCE · Iberians
Bow and arrows in a case · 5th–4th centuries BCE · Scythians and Saka
Coțofenești helmet · Second half of the 5th century – beginning of the 4th century BCE · Thracians
The Solokha gold comb · 4th century BCE · Greek worlds
Treasure of Jávea · 4th century BCE · Iberians
Falcata from Almedinilla · 4th–3rd centuries BCE · Iberians
Marina Alta Hoard · Jewellery: 5th–2nd centuries BCE; concealment probably around 80–73 BCE. · Iberians
Panagyurishte · late 4th century – early 3rd century BCE, towards 300 BCE · Thracians — You are viewing
The Shield that Did Not Fight · Around 350–50 BCE · Celtic worlds
Simancas-type belt buckle · Second half of the IV century–V century CE · Iberians
Moulds for gold · 9th–11th centuries CE · Mande Worlds
Gold rhinoceros · ca. 1220–1290; found in 1933 · Bantu-speaking worlds

Without a comparable date (not part of the chronological order):

Copper and stone · ca. 3100–2700 BCE · Ancient Egypt
Early metallurgy · c. 1900–1500 BCE · Ancient China
Four panoplies · No individual dating published on this record · Iberians
Iron changes the frontier · 3rd–2nd centuries BCE · Gojoseon and early Korea
Piece-mold casting · c. 1600–1046 BCE · Ancient China
The workshop inside the ditch · 4th century BCE–3rd century CE, peak in Middle and Late Yayoi · Yayoi Japan
Weapons under the Lake · Mainly 3rd–1st centuries BCE · Celtic worlds

Banqueting

The great Greek krater of Vix · ≈530–500 BCE · Greek worlds
Rogozen · mainly 5th–4th centuries BCE; The set has a history of accumulation, not a single manufacturing date. · Thracians
Borovo · 4th century BC C.; 350–300 BCE in the ISAW catalog. · Thracians
Panagyurishte · late 4th century – early 3rd century BCE, towards 300 BCE · Thracians — You are viewing
Vase from Chão de Lamas · Piece: III–II centuries BCE · concealment ≈110–76 BCE · Iberians
Patera from Perotito · Second half of the 2nd–beginnings of the 1st century BCE · Iberians

Without a comparable date (not part of the chronological order):

The Banquet of Seuthes II · Towards 400 BCE. Anabasis episode · Thracians

A closer look

About 1 min to read · 2 sections. Further reading and sources · free access. Editorial review recorded: September 5, 2026.

How to use a rhyton

The series includes a phiale, an amphora-rhyton and several animal or human rhytons. The outlet holes regulated the flow of the wine and gave each container a particular way of use. The forms come from repertoires that circulated between Persia, Greece and Thrace, as do the stories represented in the gold.

Museum · Getty: Mythology in GoldAccess recorded: September 5, 2026.
Museum · Metropolitan Museum: The Thracians, plates by PanagyurishteAccess recorded: September 5, 2026.

What the deposit does not tell us

The discovery was not accompanied by an archaeological context that explains who collected and buried the vessels. The owner and the reason for the concealment remain open. The proposal of Greek artists working for a Thracian elite shows another difficulty: the place of use, the workshop and the place of discovery may be different.

Museum · Getty: Mythology in GoldAccess recorded: September 5, 2026.
Museum · Metropolitan Museum: The Thracians, plates by PanagyurishteAccess recorded: September 5, 2026.

Location and territory

APPROXIMATE LOCATION

Panagyurishte · BulgariaApproximate reference of origin or production, not exact findspot.

Where it is held

Plovdiv Regional Archaeological Museum

Item or group in the record · Documented collection

Collecting institution identified by Getty; There are loans and replicas. The current exhibition location is not confirmed here.

The holding institution is documented; public display may change. Check its official record before visiting.

Sources and references

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History and context

Evidence and interpretation

Catalogue facts

Panagyurishte

The Gold of Varna

Puabi headdress

The goat from PG 1237

Before Phoenicia

Tutankhamun's grave goods

Stag Vessel

Valchitran

Before the Iberias

Tomb 1 at Kuntur Wasi

Kushite king

Gold at Kuntur Wasi

Regolini-Galassi tomb

Condomina Earring

Uni was also Astarte

Ezerovo Ring

Coțofenești helmet

A battle on a comb

The Kul-Oba vase

The Solokha gold comb

The archer in gold

Treasure of Jávea

Susa grave goods

Thoth in the form of a baboon

Faces of the Steppe

Poroina Mare Rhyton

Treasure of Cheste

Marina Alta Hoard

Panagyurishte

Mairena Hoard

Patera from Perotito

Moulds for gold

Gold rhinoceros

A closer look

How to use a rhyton

What the deposit does not tell us

Location and territory

Where it is held

Plovdiv Regional Archaeological Museum

Sources and references

Did you enjoy this exhibit?