Dacian silver treasure unearthed in Romania’s Mureș county

A valuable Dacian silver treasure has been discovered in the commune of Breaza, Mureș county, according to an announcement made Thursday, April 10, by the City Hall. The find, confirmed by the Mureș County Museum, consists of several ornamental pieces, including a bracelet, three brooches (fibulae), a necklace chain, and a belt.

The discovery was made earlier this year by two hobbyist metal detectorists, Dionisie-Aurel Moldovan and Sebastian-Adrian Zăhan, who handed over the objects to the state as required by law, according to local news agency Agerpres.

The silver artifacts are believed to have belonged to a high-ranking member of the Dacian aristocracy and weigh around 550 grams.

According to a document posted on social media by the City Hall, the pieces include a circular silver bracelet with slightly widened ends decorated with vegetal motifs; a pair of elongated, undecorated fibulae with diamond-shaped plates; a smaller fibula with four knobs; a neck chain ending in a loop that holds three nail-shaped pendants; and a belt made of alternating oval plates and rings, including a rectangular plaque decorated with solar motifs.

The document also notes that the items may have been deliberately buried - either as a ritual offering to an unknown deity or as an act of concealment during troubled times.

“The discovery confirms for the first time the existence of a Dacian settlement in the Breaza area, and archaeological research will soon begin to identify the settlement or fortification to which the treasure likely belonged,” the Mureș County Museum said in a post on Facebook.

The treasure will be documented, studied, and displayed in future exhibitions at the Mureș County Museum.

(Photo source: Facebook/Muzeul Judeţean Mureş / Maros Megyei Múzeum)