Friday, 17th February 2006 (4070 views)

A 6,500-year-old gold pendant has been discovered in Greece, and is to be presented at a three-day archaeological conference being held in
Thessaloniki.

The artefact measures four centimetres by 3.5 centimetres, has a flat, ring shape, and was probably worn by a significant member of society and for religious reasons.

It was produced in around 4500 BC, when Greece's early Neolithic farming settlements began to organise themselves into more structured trading centres, and started to develop an enhanced capability in metalworking.

Georgia Karamitrou-Mendesidi, the archaeologist who will present the
pendant, said: "It belongs to the Neolithic period, about which we know very little regarding the use of metals, particularly gold."

However, she speculated: "The fact that it is made of gold indicates that these people were highly advanced, producing significant works of art.

The pendant was found last year near the town of Ptolemaida by a hiker, who then handed it over to the authorities.

Similar finds have also been excavated in Turkey and in some of the Balkan nations, notably Bulgaria, although only three such artefacts have been discovered on archaeological digs in Greece.

 

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