Editing Bronze Age (section)

=== Southeast Europe ===
{{main|Old Europe (archaeology)|Varna culture}}
{{further|Prehistory of Southeastern Europe#Bronze Age|Bronze Age in Romania}}
[[File:Valchitran-treasure.jpg|thumb|[[Valchitran Treasure]] dated 1600–1100&nbsp;BCE]]
[[File:Spoked wheel from Arokalja.jpg|thumb|Bronze chariot wheel, [[Urnfield culture]], {{circa|13th–12th century&nbsp;BC|lk=no}}E<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Molloy |first=Barry |display-authors=etal |year=2023 |title=Early Chariots and Religion in South-East Europe and the Aegean During the Bronze Age: A Reappraisal of the Dupljaja Chariot in Context |journal=European Journal of Archaeology |volume=27 |issue=2 |pages=149–169 |doi=10.1017/eaa.2023.39 |doi-access=free}}</ref>]]

Radivojevic et al. (2013) reported the discovery of a tin bronze foil from the [[Pločnik (archaeological site)|Pločnik archaeological site]] dated to {{circa|4650&nbsp;BC|lk=no}}E as well as 14 other artefacts from Serbia and Bulgaria dated before 4000&nbsp;BCE, showing that early tin bronze was more common than previously thought and developed independently in Europe 1500 years before the first tin bronze alloys in the Near East. The production of complex tin bronzes lasted for about 500 years in the Balkans. The authors reported that evidence for the production of such complex bronzes disappears at the end of the 5th millennium&nbsp;BCE, coinciding with the "collapse of large cultural complexes in north-eastern Bulgaria and Thrace". Tin bronzes using [[cassiterite]] tin were reintroduced to the area some 1500 years later.<ref name="Radivojevic2013"/>

The oldest golden artefacts in the world are dated between 4600 and 4200&nbsp;BCE, and were found in the Necropolis of Varna. These artefacts are on display in the [[Varna Archaeological Museum]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Grande |first=Lance |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RnE9Fa4pbn0C&dq=varna+necropolis+oldest&pg=PA290 |title=Gems and Gemstones: Timeless Natural Beauty of the Mineral World |date=15 November 2009 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |isbn=978-0-226-30511-0 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221101113823/https://books.google.com/books?id=RnE9Fa4pbn0C&pg=PA290&dq=varna+necropolis+oldest&hl=en#v=onepage&q=varna%20necropolis%20oldest&f=false |archive-date=2022-11-01 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Curry |first=Andrew |title=Mystery of the Varna Gold: What Caused These Ancient Societies to Disappear? |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/varna-bulgaria-gold-graves-social-hierarchy-prehistoric-archaelogy-smithsonian-journeys-travel-quarterly-180958733/ |website=Smithsonian Magazine}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Daley |first=Jason |title=World's Oldest Gold Object May Have Just Been Unearthed in Bulgaria |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/oldest-gold-object-unearthed-bulgaria-180960093/ |magazine=Smithsonian Magazine}}</ref>

The [[Dabene Treasure]] was unearthed from 2004 to 2007 near [[Karlovo]] in central Bulgaria. The treasure consists of 20,000 gold jewellery items from 18 to 23 carats. The most important of them was a dagger made of gold and [[platinum]] with an unusual edge. The treasure was dated to the end of the 3rd millennium&nbsp;BCE. Scientists suggest that the Karlovo valley used to be a major crafts centre that exported golden jewellery across Europe. It is considered one of the largest prehistoric golden treasures in the world.{{citation needed|date=November 2024}}