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Archaeologists unearth part of 3, 500 year-old gold mask SOFIA (bnn)- Archaeologists in Southern Bulgaria, exploring what they believe to be the tomb of Orpheus, discovered fragments of a golden mask dating from the Trojan War, state TV reported. The expedition found the gold in a 3, 500 year-old temple that has survived untouched by treasure hunters. Archaeological team leader Nikolay Ovcharov said the mask was older than a 690-gram (24.3-ounce) Thracian gold mask that was unearthed a year ago in central Bulgaria. The Thracians were Bronze Age people, who lived in the Balkans between 4,000 B.C. and the seventh...

Orpheus Tomb Discovered? Updated on: 29.06.2007, 17:51 Published on: 29.06.2007, 17:46 Author: Olga Yoncheva Orpheus sanctuary in Rhodope mountains is with thousand years older than the Egyptian pyramids. The sensational discovery was made by an archaeological expedition which investigated the temple of the Thracians near the village of Tatul, informed BNT. The scientists found 6000-year old buildings with preserved tools made of semi-precious stones, crockery, animal remains. According to the archaeologists now it can be claimed that this is the Tomb of Orpheus, which has been visited of thousands of pilgrims from around the antique world. The sanctuary is one...

A collection of charred scraps kept in a Greek museum's storerooms are all that remains of what archaeologists say is Europe's oldest surviving book _ which may hold a key to understanding early monotheistic beliefs. More than four decades after the Derveni papyrus was found in a 2,400- year-old nobleman's grave in northern Greece, researchers said Thursday they are close to uncovering new text _ through high-tech digital analysis _ from the blackened fragments left after the manuscript was burnt on its owner's funeral pyre. Large sections of the mid-4th century B.C. book _ a philosophical treatise on ancient religion...