The Ministry of Culture presented archaeological treasures returned to Bulgaria with the support of international partners from Switzerland and Germany.
Among them was an antique bronze gladiator helmet from the first century, returned with the assistance of Swiss institutions, including the Federal Office for Culture at the Federal Ministry of the Interior in Bern.
“This is truly a relic for us and invaluable evidence of what was happening in our lands in the second half of the first century“, said Deputy Minister of Culture Assoc. Prof. Todor Chobanov. “Of course, it also has a huge market value, which should not be underestimated. Three million euros is its market value“, said Chobanov. According to him, no such object has been found in Bulgaria so far and therefore it will occupy an important place in the currently renovated exhibition of the National History Museum in the Hall of Antiquity.
“This is an extremely characteristic helmet for gladiators. Its classification is difficult, but not impossible. A number of arguments lead us to believe that this was a helmet of a Thracian gladiator. This is one of the most popular types in gladiatorial fights. It appears in the first century, because in the middle of the first century the Thracian kingdoms were obsessed with the Roman Empire and this led to the great popularity of this type of gladiator in Roman gladiatorial fights“, said Assoc. Prof. Todor Chobanov. He explained that the helmet bears the characteristic image of the gorgon Medusa.
Among the exhibits are ancient and medieval coins (out of a total of 872), a bronze vase and a fibula, returned from Germany after successful police actions by the Bavarian Criminal Police Office, the Federal Office for Culture and Media of the Federal Government and in cooperation with the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and the Interior, Customs, the Prosecutor's Office and the "Trafficking in Cultural and Historical Valuables" sector at the Directorate General for the Prevention of Anti-Money Laundering of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.