Dacians and Their
Golden Legacy ✨
The motif of the Dragons
Belief in immortality ✟ 🐉
The Coțofenești Helmet was discovered in 1927, in Prahova County, and is one of the most important archaeological discoveries in Romania, having a major significance in understanding the Geto-Dacian’s civilization.
According to historian and archaeologist Dumitru Berciu (1969, 40 years after the discovery of the Coțofenești Helmet), the Helmet belongs to the group of chance discoveries. It was found in 1928 during plowing, by a primary school student in the village of Coțofenești, Poiana-Vărbilău commune, Prahova County.
The professor of prehistory at the University of Bucharest, Ioan Andrieşescu, conducted research at the site, where he found that the piece was found ISOLATED, unassociated with other gold or other metal objects, and therefore did NOT come from a tomb or treasure trove. However, the helmet had been hidden in a Geto-Dacian Latene settlement, therefore in a local Thracian-Getic environment; from the discovery site and its surroundings, I. Andriesescu collected gray wheel-turned ceramic fragments.
The shape and decoration of this piece also reveal that the person buried in this necropolis was a member of the Geto-Dacian elite, probably a nobleman or a military leader, who held an important role in society. These discoveries provide us with clues about the religious and funerary practices of the Geto-Dacians, in which valuable objects had a strong symbolic function, linked to the cult of ancestors and their religious beliefs.
The Coțofenești helmet is a remarkable example of Geto-Dacian craftsmanship, being made of an alloy of with a shape that reflects religious symbols and motifs. It is part of a group of princely helmets, which symbolized the power and high status of the Geto-Dacian elite. The helmet discovered at Coțofenești has a specific design, with elements that suggest a connection with divinity and cult rituals. It is a particularly important object, not only from the point of view of art and craft, but also of its religious and political significance. Geto-Dacian helmets, like the one from Coțofenești, reflect the spiritual vision of this people, who saw their leaders as intermediaries between the divine and earthly worlds, having a central role in religious and social life.
Belief in immortality ✟
The Geto-Dacian belief in immortality was based on the conviction that a violently interrupted life continues through another mode of existence. The amount of vital energy that remains available through the interruption of an existence far from its end is “creative” in the sense that it is capable of animating any object made by human hands, especially the weapons of the warrior. The post-existence of the Geto-Dacian warriors, therefore their immortality, is ensured precisely by their violent death.
The warriors’ faith ☥
Their “existence” continues through the symbolic extension of their “professional activity”, that of warriors. There is a conception according to which by destroying the weapons, their “death” was intended together with that of the warrior. However, the strong belief in immortality, which the Geto-Dacians perceived as a passage, or a continuation, in a happier way, of earthly life, was for them the support of an intense optimism and courage in life. And how could a warrior face the challenges of the afterlife without his weapons, which “died” through destruction?
According to the warriors’ belief, the weapons were animated, and by bending or breaking them, thus by ritually destroying them in this world, they would be able to follow the warrior’s soul more easily, which would also be more easily separated from the body if cremated.
The motif of the dragons 🐉 facing each other, a symbol of royalty under the Carpathian arch. One of the truly pan-European elements of the art of the early La Tene period is the motif of paired dragons facing a symbol of regeneration, which we generally find at the top of the front plate that adorns the scabbards of Celtic swords.
The area of distribution of the motif is from the south-east of Great Britain to the Balkans, with a few examples south of the Alps and in the Iberian Peninsula. It consists of a pair of opposing S-shapes, with zoomorphic heads facing inwards. The animals are represented extremely schematically and, at times, have been thought of as griffins rather than dragons, having the body of a snake and the head of a predator with a wide open snout.
The symbolism of regeneration is rendered by the representation of the Tree of Life, the Sky Serpent, the Great Goddess, the bucranium, the serpent, the stag, or the tendrils of vines branching at more or less regular intervals. Any of these symbols suggest the idea of cyclical regeneration, vital continuity, and spiritual immortality.
Although earlier studies considered this motif as evidence of Eastern influences in early Celtic art, subsequent discoveries in Western Europe have led to this view being considered erroneous. Dating to the late 4th – early 3rd centuries BCE, scabbards decorated with the motif of dragons facing a symbol of regeneration are also well represented in Eastern Europe, through discoveries in Hungary, Slovenia, Poland, Bulgaria and Romania.
All these mythical and iconographic associations are not accidental, nor are they devoid of religious and metaphysical value. What do these ensembles mean: the Goddess-Tree, the Goddess-Vine surrounded by cosmological emblems and heraldic animals? Namely, that that place is a “center of the world”, that there is the source of Life, youth and immortality.
The trees represent the Universe in ceaseless regeneration; but at the center of the Universe there is always a tree – that of eternal Life or Knowledge. The Great Goddess is the personification of the inexhaustible source of creation, of this ultimate foundation of reality. She is nothing but the mythical expression of the primordial intuition that sacredness, life and immortality are found in a “center”. Mircea Eliade, Treatise on the History of Religions.
Helmets of the Getic Brotherhood
Currently, the oldest evidence of the use of the motif of paired dragons is conventionally considered to be the ornament executed on the scabbard of a Celtic sword discovered at Saint Jean-sur-Marne Tourbe, France, which would belong to an early phase of the La Tene period. However, a helmet, considered among the oldest and most valuable Getic princely objects, predates the use of this motif in ornamentation by the 5th century BC… The Danubian Knights, the helmets of the Getic Brotherhood.
Studying the symbolism used in the ornamentation of the Getic helmet made of gold, discovered at Cucuteni-Băiceni, Iași County, one can observe on the right cheekpiece of the helmet a zoomorphic lyre, formed by two dragons with the body of a snake and the head of a predatory animal, represented in a position of affront to a bucranium. The gaping snouts of the dragons constitute a way of continuity of the brace above the bucranium, a symbol of fertility and regeneration.
Golden Legacy ✨
Exploring Europe’s Richest Treasure
and the Geto-Dacians’ Golden Legacy
Until the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb in 1922, the Pietroasele Treasure 🥇 was considered the largest gold and precious stones treasure ever unearthed.
Found in 1837 by a local named Stan Avram and his son-in-law Ion Lemnaru, the treasure was discovered while they were extracting limestone from the Via Ardelenilor quarry near Pietroasele. Originally comprising 22 pieces and weighing an estimated 27–40 kg, only 18.795 kg of the treasure survives today, including a large platter, a small platter (patera), a jug, a necklace, brooches (fibulae), and various vessels. These remnants continue to awe archaeologists and historians as a window into the wealth and culture of the ancient civilizations in Europe.
Alongside this remarkable find, the Geto-Dacians’ treasure troves are some of the most iconic remnants of their sophisticated society. The Dacian gold bracelets, dating back to the 1st century BC, are notable for their intricate spiral designs and geometric patterns, showcasing the advanced metalworking skills of the Dacians, discovered in the Orăștie Mountains. These bracelets represent the opulence of the Dacian elite, who played a pivotal role in the region before the Roman conquest.
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Further treasures in romanian museums include a variety of gold jewelry—such as earrings, rings, and necklaces—often inlaid with precious stones, reflecting the artistic traditions of the ancient peoples of the region. Among these finds is the Geto-Dacian gold hoard, featuring brooches, coins, and necklaces from the pre-Roman era, offering insights into the wealth, trade, and culture of the Geto-Dacians, whose interactions with neighboring civilizations helped shape their legacy.
From medieval gold religious artifacts to ancient treasures like the Pietroasele hoard, these objects not only reflect the extravagance and artistry of their makers but also offer a glimpse into the power, history, and culture of the ancient world, still influencing modern-day Romania and the surrounding regions.
Unveiling Old ✨
Europe GOLD Heritage
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Louvre, British Museum
& Geto-Dacians Heritage 👈
