Podcast in English
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2025 All Rights Reserved

A 2500-year-old Scythian sceptre discovered during excavations near Provadia

Photo: BTA

Archaeologists found a 2,500 years old Scythian sceptre in the last days of this season's excavations in the prehistoric salt mining and urban center "Provadia - Solnitsata" in Northeast Bulgaria, BTA reports.


The 5th century BC sceptre is 39 centimetres long and its handle is made of two pieces of bone glued together. At the bottom it is covered with a socket and has an opening, suggesting that the sceptre was probably hung somewhere, according to Acad. Vasil Nikolov, who is leading the excavations at the site.


The connection between the head and the handle of the scepter is meticulously made. The head is carved in the characteristic Scythian animal style. Viewed from one side, it is like the beak of an eagle, but on the other, the ancient craftsman has carved an anthropomorphic image on which the beak looks like a hat. 




Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!
Listen to the daily news from Bulgaria presented in "Bulgaria Today" podcast, available in Spotify.

More from category

Father Julian Angelov

Father Julian Angelov – from Vidin to Berlin in service to God

Founding a Bulgarian Orthodox parish thousands of kilometers away from the homeland is no easy task, especially when the Bulgarian diaspora is scattered across vast distances. In Bulgaria we take for granted that every neighborhood in a large city has..

published on 7/28/25 1:48 PM

1800-year-old triangular tower discovered near Sofia

The Urvich Fortress continues to reveal its secrets from the time when Sofia was Roman Serdica. A triangular stone tower dating back to the end of the 2nd century was discovered by young archaeologists Dr. Filip Petrunov and..

published on 7/26/25 6:10 AM
Some of the rock churches are open to tourists

The valley of the monks: The churches in the valley of Rusenski Lom and its tributaries

In Northeastern Bulgaria the river Rusenski Lom and its tributaries – Cherni, Beli and Malki Lom – have carved out a rugged rocky landscape with hidden caves and hushed valleys where the only sound is that of the birdsong. People have settled in..

published on 7/22/25 1:05 PM