Archaeologists in Southern Bulgaria, exploring what they believe to be the tomb of Orpheus, discovered fragments of a golden mask dating from the Trojan War, state TV reported.
     The expedition found the gold in a 3, 500 year-old temple that has survived untouched by treasure hunters. Archaeological team leader Nikolay Ovcharov said the mask was older than a 690-gram (24.3-ounce) Thracian gold mask that was unearthed a year ago in central Bulgaria.
     The Thracians were Bronze Age people, who lived in the Balkans between 4000 BCE and the seventh century CE. Ovcharov said the golden fragments were discovered in a perfectly preserved cultural layer from the 15 c. - 11 c. BCE near the village of Tatul, next to the Bulgarian-Greek border. He said the find could be linked the Ancient Greek Mycenae culture.

Source: BNN (24 June 2005)