They discover in Bulgaria treasure of 'Ali Baba Tartarus' of the XIV century

[OyaYansa]

Almost 900 silver coins, 11 gold, 11 applications and buckles, 28 silver and bronze buttons, 11 earrings and two gold rings are some of the 957 objects of a 14th century treasure found in a vase buried on the banks of the Black Sea, gives rise to imagine an 'Ali Baba Tartarus'.

This was explained today by Boni Petrunova, the director of the Bulgarian National Historical Museum and head of the archaeological team responsible for the excavations of the medieval fortress of Kaliakra, presenting with photographs the discovery that "was made almost by chance".

In a press conference in that place in northern Bulgaria, Petrunova announced that the valuable objects will be shown to the public next year, once their exact provenance has been established through analysis. The expert said that her team changed plans after a local citizen warned her that "she had seen a skull that appeared from under the ground." "We started digging there," in what was shown to be the ruins of a house destroyed by a fire at the beginning of the 15th century, the expert said.

First appeared an ornament in nephrite (a type of jade) made in China, which is very unusual in the region has led scientists to assume that it had been a gift for some of the last monarchs of the Second Bulgarian Kingdom, before being usurped by the Ottoman Empire.

Subsequently, archaeologists unearthed the vase that kept the treasure, with coins from the time of sultans Bayezid I (1360-1402) and Murad I (1362-1389), as well as Venice, Genoa and Byzantium, up to 23.5 carats of gold. "Obviously, these are military trophies stolen by the Tartars who invaded this area during the first years of the fifteenth century," Petrunova said, recalling that Kaliakra was captured by hordes of Tartars who devastated large areas of the Bulgarian kingdom after being displaced by the Northern Mongols.

Towards the year 1404, the Tartars were also expelled from the Balkan soil and the scientists believe it was at that moment when the unknown owner of the treasure hid it with the intention of recovering it later, something that did not happen. "The jug was buried under the floor (of the house), but in the fire the roof fell on the place and buried it for centuries, preserving it until today," Petrunova explained.

For archaeologists, the discovery of the treasure is "as if we had received an SMS from the fourteenth century" and now it is necessary to establish what exactly happened in those busy times of history around the strategic medieval fortress of Kaliakra.