PREHISTORIC
PART
4 –
Ch.XXVIII.2
Prehistoric
monuments of metallurgic art in Dacia
(The
Arimaspian or Hyperborean treasure from Petrosa)
XXVIII.
2. The large disc from the treasure of Petrosa (
This disc of
massive gold presents, by its technique and decorations, the most archaic
character among all the objects discovered at Petrosa, and by its dimensions
forms the most grandiose relic of this priceless treasure. Its diameter is of
almost 560mm, its weight is of 7.154kg and its value in pure gold is 24,000Fr.
The entire
decoration of this vase is formed of two groups of motifs, one on the inner
edge and the other in the center.
The decoration on
the inner edge is composed of two rows of pearls formed from the body of the
vase, and inside these rows, a double line zig-zags all around it, whose sharp
angles are covered with parallel vertical lines.
Decoration from the inner edge of the
large disc Ceramic fragment from the ruins of the
first prehistoric fortress from Hissarlik
(
This is an archaic
type of ornamentation, which appears also on the Neolithic ceramic from the
Pelasgian lands. Especially this form of ornamentation presents a perfect
resemblance with the decoration from a clay vase discovered by Schliemann in
the first prehistoric fortress from the hill of Hissarlik (
We could suppose therefore
that from the point of view of its decoration and art, these two objects belong
to the same prehistoric epoch of civilization.
Regarding this we
also have another important specimen for comparison.
An ancient vase
painting shows Apollo holding in his right hand a platter, decorated on edge
with the same form of lines, simple but elegant, also shown on the grandiose
disc from Petrosa.
Decoration on the outside edge of an Apollinic platter (patera).
Enlarged form. ( After Lenormant, Elite de
mon. cer. II. pl. XXXVI)
We have here
therefore a decoration executed after the hieratic rules of the heroic times,
or ancient Pelasgian.
This pattern is
favored by the Romanian people to this day, as an ancient traditional symbol.
It belongs to the national ornamentation of the pastoral population from the
Carpathians.
On the rugs worked
at home by the Romanian peasant women from the village Moroieni (Dambovita
district), we ourselves have seen in 1903 the following decorations:
Two specimens of ornamentation on the weaving of
Romanian peasant women
in the village Moroieni, Dambovita
district,
The fundamental idea
of the circular design which decorates the edges of the sacred vase from
Petrosa has its origin in the system of architecture of the Pelasgian people.
It is only a simple imitation of the exterior shapes presented by the circular
walls of the ancient Pelasgian, or Cyclopean fortresses.
An archaic
character is also presented by the rosette at the center of the disc.
Rosette at the
center of the large disc from Petrosa
And the largest rosette
is formed with a double line, which bends into a curve like a river, to the
right and left around the smaller rosette.
The same type of
ornamentation is very often presented on the bronze weapons which have been
discovered on the
The large disc from
Petrosa does not have the character of a luxurious vase to be used in domestic
activities. By its shape and ornamentation, it was destined to the religious
service and belonged without doubt to an ancient Pelasgian temple from the north
of the
Today this disc is
cut in four pieces of almost equal size, even from the time when it had reached
into the destructive hands of Anastase Verussi.