We came to Varna to reach the Black Sea. And it is a bonus to go to the mineral baths before taking the plunge.
In January, a Russian deputy proposed renaming the Black Sea to the Russian Sea. Does this sound familiar??
Before we spent the afternoon down by the sea, we went to the not-to-be-missed Archeological Museum of Varna.
Here is a chronological and pictorial guide to the many eras that Varna has experienced.These 31 gold beads were excavated in 1976 among burial artifacts which are actually the oldest processed gold found in the world so far and date to the mid 5th millennium BC.Grave 42 that was reconstructed like it was found. This is what the man would have looked like according to reconstructionists.Border stone demarcating the territory of Odessos (Varna) from the province of ThraceOne can tell where these amphoras originated. They carried liquids such as wine and olive oil. Here is how they were transported in ships.Ivan Ivanov, famous Varna Necropolis archeologist with the plate from Grave 4.
There is much to see at this museum. More than I could ever recount. In the next pictures, I will highlight items that either I had never seen before or that enhanced my understanding.
These are tripods that are put between stacked pottery plates to keep them from sticking to each other and breaking.Here was a marketplace table with varying sizes to measure liquids. A stopper would then be removed to release the product into a vessel.Many pipes were used for smoking tobacco. Cigarettes are a modern invention.
We know more about culture from their funerary practices rather than their daily lives because archeologists find those items.
Thracian BurialBronze Age tombstoneI always wondered how women wore big clunky earrings. Look closely and one can see that the “earrings” are attached to the headscarf.These golden bulls also came from a 5th millennium BC grave and are featured at the museum.We see many Thracian Horseman reliefs. The Thracian population was devoted to the God-Horseman (Heros). He is depicted as a hunter on horseback, riding from left to right holding a lance in his right hand aiming at a boar attacked by a hunting dog. It is extremely rare to find the Thracian Horseman as a sculpture. There have only been two found to date.This gold earring is the grand finale … such beauty and detail.This map shows the variety of mints across Thrace, Greece, and Asia Minor in ancient times. Many coins were on display in the museum, but the lighting and reflections on the display cases made them difficult to photograph.
Roman Baths
Clay pipesPoolThis Roman bath complex was gigantic. It didn’t even last 100 years because it required so much labor and upkeep.In fact, this smaller, manageable Roman bath about 5 minutes away took stones and materials from the larger Roman bath.
Moonlight Mineral Springs
Here is a modern mineral bath. We ate lunch and then plunged into the 99ºF water. It felt tingly like I was in a bottle of Sprite.Look at those rippling muscles!!Next, it is recommended to plunge into the sea with a temperature of 72⁰F. Can you find Rob?
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