Bone sceptrе

Late Iron Age, 5th c. BC

Prehistoric salt-production and urban centre "Provadia-Solnitsata"

Photo: P. Leshtakov

Several Late Iron Age pits have been excavated in the southeastern sector of the Provadia-Solnitsata Tell. The lower part of a human skeleton of a Scythian warrior was found in one of them. He was buried with an iron knife and a bone sceptre. The sceptre is 39 cm long and features an interesting combination of an eagle's head and the face of a Scythian warrior, with the beak also acting as a hat. The detail of its craftsmanship is impressive. The artefact has a polished surface composed of four elements. It has a long cylindrical body of two longitudinal halves with an elliptical cross-section. An end piece at the top, with a rounded lower half, decorated with incisions; the tip ends with the stylised head of a bird of prey, while the reverse side features an anthropomorphic image. A hemispherical socket at the bottom.

The artefact is presented in the temporary exhibition "The Lords of the Salt": Provadia-Solnitsata 5600 – 4350 BC" in the Temporary Exhibition Hall of NAIM-BAS. The exhibition is dedicated to the 20th anniversary of archaeological excavations at the earliest prehistoric salt-production and urban centre in Europe "Provadia-Solnitsata".

The exhibit is part of the collection of the Provadia Historical Museum.

Catalogue: "The Lords of the Salt: Provadia-Solnitsata 5600 - 4350 BC". Exhibition dedicated to the two decades of archaeological excavations at the earliest prehistoric salt-production and urban centre in Europe "Provadia-Solnitsata". Scientific supervisor: prof. Vasil Nikolov, Ph.D., Sc.D., curator Dr. Galina Samichkova, Publisher BAS "Prof. Marin Drinov", Sofia 2024.