Hristo Smolenov Zagora - Varna the Hidden Superculture Knowledge Encoded in Art 3000 Years before the Pyramids This ceramic Sphinx from Stara Zagora is almost 3000 years older than the pyramids in Egypt. If we measure it from the nose to the back of its human looking head, we'll be able to fix a standard length of about 104 mm. Twice this span, 208 mm equals the height of the masterpiece. Hristo Smolenov Zagora - Varna the Hidden Superculture Knowledge Encoded in Art 3000 Years before the Pyramids Institute of Metal Science, Equipment and Technology "Acad. Angel Balevski" This grain container from the region of Stara Zagora (Late Neolithic, 6-th millennium BC) had practical, as well as sacred functions, important for the survival of the community. The future harvest depended on how well grain-seeds would be preserved in the container. No wonder that its measures comply with certain "sacred" standards in use by a mysterious superculture which used to flower on the Balkan peninsula. Proofs of its existence are the magnificent Zagora pottery and the amount of copper produced in the same region. So is the world's oldest gold treasure, found in Varna in 1972. The diameter of the grain container's opening, for instance, equals twice the length of a gold standard plate from Varna Necroplis, (Chalcolithic, middle of the 5-th millennium BC). Is this a kind of paradox, or an evidence of the continuity binding Zagora and Varna in one and the same superculture? Gold and clayware masterpieces unearthed from these two regions of Bulgaria reveal primeval knowledge of unbelievable depth and elegance. I choose to call this superculture the Aurolithic one (namely: a Golden Age Renaissance against the background of Stone Age cultures). Another name is given to it by Maria Gimbutas, who has introduced the term Karanovo civilization. Yet another approach to this prehistoric develop- ment can be sought along the lines of terms like Old Europe, or Danubian civilization, used by Harald Haarmann. There is good reason to believe this was in fact the first European civilization, dawning by the Black Sea some 3000 years before the pyramids. It has fallen into oblivion, following a tremendous catastrophe. But its hidden knowledge goes on... Here are two masterpieces of primeval art. Above is the grain container from Kaloyanovetz tell, Stara Zagora region (Late Neolithic, 6-th millennium BC). On the next page is a mysterious pottery bowl from symbolic grave № 4 of Varna Necropolis, which is some 300 kilometers away from Stara Zagora. How come that we find one and the same standard of length in both of these extraordinary designs? The elaborate design of this pottery bowl, too, is in keeping with the gold plate's dimensions. It comes from Varna Necropolis (middle of 5-th millennium BC). Rather than mere coincidence, it is an evidence of intentional use of standards to highlight a func- tion which in one way or another was considered as sacred. Hence the use of sacred standards of length implemented in gold and clayware artefacts. The size of the gold plate from Varna Necropolis did matter, as far as "sacred" artefacts were concerned. For example, in grave № 43, beside the skull of the King-High priest, a clayware pot was found, its di- mensions relating to the length and width of this gold standard plate. (See photos on the next page.) Mind that the gold standard plate's shorter side equals the diameter of the big vase (above), perfect- ly fitting into the opening. The collection of sacred pottery below is known to be some 500 years older than Varna Necropolis. And yet, it is in a way correlated with the size of gold objects from the Varna treasure. Isn't this an argument to the effect that size had been of specific importance in the making of sacred artefacts long before the Necropolis burials - the time when the world's oldest gold was delivered to the ground? The pottery masterpiece above predates Varna Ne- cropolis by almost half a millennium. It consists of two parts - a vase and a jar that fits precisely into the top opening of the bigger vase, so the two clayware items become as one. In fact, they have been un- earthed in this combination: jar fixed in the opening of the bigger vessel, so that the total height of this combination of pottery items roughly equals the sum total of the length and the width of the gold plate. Indeed, it is hard to believe but nevertheless true. This mysterious anthropomorphic vwssel has been unearthed from Stara Zagora Mineral spa tell (Late Chalcolithic, 5-th millennium BC). Its proportions reveal the implementation of sacred standards in the design of this extraordinary sculpture. I have been given the chance to precisely measure its dimensions (courtesy of Dr. Petar Kalchev and the late Mincho Dimitrov). As a result, a synergy of proportions has manifested itself, closely related to standards encoded in the Varna Necropolis gold. h = 41.1 cm ; g = 30.8 cm ; h : g ~ 4 : 3 The height (length) of the gold standard plate from Varna is roughly 17.3 cm. The shortest dimension, which I shall denote as width min., is 13 cm. So the same basic proportion obtaines: 17.3 cm : 13 cm ~ 4 : 3 By means of a cord (a string, a thin rope) one could transfer these standard dimensions from the gold plate to other objects: the clay items, or any artefact which was supposed to have sacred functions. Proportions of the Varna gold plate h : g ~ 4 : 3 Proportions of Khafra’s pyramid: BD : AB ~ 4 : 3 The hands overlap, so the lower one marks a specific proportion (the yellow line) j : k ~ 14 : 11 k j Proportions of the Great pyramid (also known as Khufu's pyramid) FL : FK ~ 14 : 11 So the base-to-height ratio of the Great pyramid is EK : FL ~ 22 : 14 which is approximately � : 2 Part One: Measuring Harmony 3000 years before the Pyramids 1. The Interplay of Proportions A constellation of tells is scattered in Stara Zagora region, also known as Zagore. Finds from these tells have inspired generations of archaeologists and other scientists to do interdisciplinary research. The present author, too, has launched a hypothesis grounded in this realm of primeval harmony. It deals with standards and proportions, considered as sacred and materialized in the forms of Zagora clayware masterpieces and Varna Necropolis gold, the world's oldest gold treasure. How do we know that one has in fact uncovered a lost civilization? It certainly takes a conceptual discovery - a new password for us to reveal the logic behind artefacts. It is this sort of archaeo-logic that opens up new prospects for a non-trivial interpretation. By way of decoding the material system of hidden knowledge - the array of objects excavated from the ground, one can convey the meaning of more abstract notions like standard and proportion. Here is but a small part of Varna Necropolis treasure - the most ancient processed gold on Earth. Almost 6 kilograms of precious metal have been found there - 3102 gold items which are not just pieces of art, but information carriers, too. It is not only the quantity of gold that matters; this metal being quite malleable, artefacts have been shaped with unbelievable precision, in keeping with sacred standards and proportions. Even mainstream interpretations consider this find as one of the greatest archaeological discoveries of the XX century. It was unearthed in 1972 by the Bulgarian archaeologist Ivan Ivanov. Calibrated radiocarbon dating suggests that the burials took place between 4600 and 4200 BC. Prince Mikasa - a leading Japanese archaeologist, wrote in 1982 that Varna culture was in fact the First European Civilization. Since then, despite all positive developments along the lines of international recognition, the Varna Necropolis issue seems to have fallen into oblivion. Maybe, the cold war hysteria was to blame; maybe the former Soviet Union was too jealous to admit that a small country like Bularia could have such a tremendous civilizational contribution. Anyway, this topic was no longer debated, the excavations stopped at once and have not been continued for four long decades on end. Meanwhile, some 20% of this sensational dig is yet to be carried out. More and more evidence came to the effect that Varna culture might have been much more ancient, its roots being traced into the 6-th millennium BC. But the finds remained fairly unknown, no further interest seemed to be shown in financing further excavations. Dr. Ivan Ivanov unfortunately died in the 90-ies , and Bulgaria having no lobby whatsoever, relatively little public attention could be drawn to this momentous discovery. For all that, Varna Necropolis gold has stirred up emotions and interest not only from archaeologists' point of view. In my opinion, it reveals the logic behind archeological finds. A conceptual discovery follows up, building upon the primary discovery of significant artefacts. My approach combines logical hunches and visual heuristics: photos, diagrams, scans of artefacts... (Courtesy of the Regional Museum of History in Varna and special thanks to Dr. Valentin Pletnyov, Dr. Vladimir Slavchev and Dr. Olga Pelevina.) Summing up, I wish to put the results into a few words. A matrix of knowledge can be decoded by studying the measures and proportions of artefacts. It highlights a cluster of cultures (one might even say - a superculture) which used to flourish on either side of the Balkan mountain during a "Golden age" in prehistoric times: 6-th and 5-th millennia BC. The research confirms: standards and proportions had been in use not only in metal masterpieces, but also in Zagore Neolithic pottery, which predated Varna Necropolis by almost a millennium.