Parts of a Medieval diadem from the fortress near the village of Zdravkovets, Gabrovo region

Abstract

Bulgarian Medieval diadems from the 13th – 14th c. are an interesting topic of study, but only few scholars paid them attention. The aim of the article is to present a part of a new silver gilded diadem. It was found in the necropolis of the Medieval fortress near the village of Zdravkovets, Gabrovo region. It belongs to the group of diadems composed of cassettes. Based on the comparative-typological analysis, it is proposed to connect a number of similar artefacts (from the village of Batovo, from the village of Prilep, Dobrich region, and from Montana) with the production of one, still unknown, workshop. The results of X-ray fluorescence analysis are also presented, which is applied for the first time for such artifacts from the Bulgarian lands and can serve as a basis for a comparative database. For the first time the technological scheme of jewelry making has been reconstructed in detail. The diadem is the second known from the region of Central Bulgaria, after the one from the necropolis of the Medieval settlement near the village of Kramolin, Gabrovo region, and testifies to the provincial aristocratic fashion from the time of the Second Bulgarian state. Later, during the Ottoman rule, the jewelry changed and became part of the folk women’s costume in a way typical only for this region.