SOFIA (Reuters) - A golden dagger dating to 3,000 BC, plus 500 golden ornaments, have been found in a Thracian tomb in central Bulgaria, an archaeologist said on Sunday.
"It's a really sensational discovery," Bozhidar Dimitrov, head of the Bulgarian national museum, told Reuters.
"The dagger, which we believe is made of gold and platinum, most probably belonged to a Thracian ruler or to a priest."
"No item of this type was found even in the legendary city of Troy," Dimitrov added, referring to ruins in Turkey widely regarded as the site of one of the leading cities of antiquity.
He said the 16-cm (6.3-inch) dagger had been dated to 3,000 BC, was in perfect condition and is extremely sharp.
The new findings come from a tomb discovered two years ago near the village of Dubovo in central Bulgaria. Last year, archaeologists found more than 15,000 golden bits and pieces there from which the restorers assembled several necklaces.
Little is known about Thracians who lived on the fringes of the Greek and Roman civilisations, often intermingling and clashing with the more advanced cultures.
Some experts say Thracians settled on what is now Bulgaria, Romania, northern Greece and Turkey's European territory from as early as 4,000 BC until they were absorbed in around 45 AD.
"This significant find confirmed that people in this region were familiar with what was then high technology in metal processing," Dimitrov said.
He said the items may have been used for ritual sacrifices.
Archaelogists have discovered a large number of artefacts in Bulgaria's Thracian tombs in recent decades, providing most of what is known of the their culture, as they had no written language and left no enduring records.
