“Grave 4, Eneolithic necropolis – Varna” Photo credit: Varna Regional Museum of History is licensed under CC-BY-SA-3.0
Grave 4, Eneolithic necropolis – Varna
The Varna culture,
as it has come to be
known, was not a small
and
inconsequential
society that emerged
in a little corner of
Bulgaria and disappeared quickly into the
pages of history. Rather,
it was an amazingly
advanced civilization
that was more ancient
than the empires of
Mesopotamia
and
Egypt, and the first
known culture to craft
golden artifacts. Varna
is also now home to
the largest prehistoric necropolis in south5
eastern Europe, which
reflects a richness in
cultural practices, complex funerary rites, an
ancient belief system,
and the capacity to
produce exquisite and
expertly-crafted goods.