Gold

Ancient gold of Kuban

The Imereti region is located in the Kolkheti lowlands between the southern Caucasus and the Adjara-Imereti ranges. Its history dates back to ancient times; 3500 years ago there was the strong Colchi Kingdom there.

Construction of the Olympic venues in the Imereti Valley resulted in over a dozen archeological expeditions.

Over 400 artifacts were handed over to the city's history museum. "The construction of the Olympic venues in Sochi over the past five years has triggered large-scale archaeological excavations previously unseen in this resort city," said Alla Guseva.

In late 2013 the museum unveiled the Ancient Gold of Kuban and the Black Sea Region exhibition as part of the Cultural Olympiad's Year of Museums. This is the first exhibition to feature artifacts unearthed during the Olympic construction. The excavations in the Imereti Valley were rare before Olympic construction. Previously, the area was considered unattractive for archeological expeditions. However, the first excavations have demonstrated that the area has been populated since ancient times.

The Bosporan Kingdom was an ancient state located in eastern Crimea and the Taman Peninsula, on the shores of the Cimmerian Bosporus (now known as the Strait of Kerch). The Bosporan Kingdom was the longest surviving Roman client kingdom. The prosperity of the Bosporan Kingdom was based on the export of wheat, fish and slaves. The profit of the trade supported a class whose conspicuous wealth is still visible from the newly discovered archaeological finds.

____________________________________________________________ Welsh Gold

Welsh gold has a history stretching back at least 2000 years. Prized for its scarcity and origin, it has become one of the most sought-after golds in the world. The St. David's Gold Mine in Snowdonia has provided the gold that has been used to create generations of pure Welsh gold wedding rings for the Royal family. Welsh gold is one of the rarest metals in the world, and Welsh gold jewellery among the most highly prized.

There were 3 mines in Wales which were active as early as the Roman era. The earliest known was the Dolaucothi Gold Mines in Carmarthenshire, which was initiated by the Romans around 74 AD. Gwynfynydd was discovered in 1860. It was active until 1998. The Clogau mine developed into gold production in the 1860s and continued as a major operator until 1911. The mine has been worked intermittently and last closed in 1998.

Welsh gold carries a distinctive rose tint. Natural gold is 20 to 22k. The remaining balance of metal is usually silver and a small amount of copper, plus other trace metals. Welsh gold has a higher ratio of copper to silver. Gold with a similar tint can be found elsewhere but a connection to the Royal Family cannot. The Royal family all wore/wear wedding rings fashioned from Welsh gold.

The wedding ring that Catherine Middleton wears is made of Welsh Gold. The gold was given to Prince William by The Queen shortly after the couple were engaged. Pure Welsh Gold is the world's most valuable precious metal and the official price is at least 3 times that of the London Metal Bullion price.

____________________________________________________________ Gold of Tutankhamun
In the fall of 1917, Howard Carter and his sponsor, Lord Carnarvon, began excavating in earnest in the Valley of the Kings.

Carter stated there were items bearing the name Tutankhamun - a faience cup, a piece of gold foil, and a cache of funerary items, that convinced him that the tomb had not yet been found. Carter was determined to search down to the bedrock. By late 1922, Carter began his fifth and final season in the Valley of the Kings by having his workers expose the workmen's huts at the base of the tomb of Rameses VI. After exposing the huts, Carter and his workmen began to excavate the ground beneath them. By the fourth day of work, they had found something - a step that had been cut into the rock.

Work feverishly continued and by late afternoon on November 5th, 12 stairs (leading downwards) were revealed; and in front of them, stood the upper portion of a blocked entrance. Carter had discovered an ancient royal Egyptian tomb, one that had lain nearly undisturbed for over 3,300 years.

When the boy king was found he rested inside three golden coffins. The first two were carved in wood. The coffin was first overlaid with sheet gold on a thin layer of plaster. Narrow strips of gold, placed on edge, were then soldered to the base to form cells in which small pieces of colored glass, fixed with cement, were laid. The third coffin is 296 pounds (135Kg) of gold.

The death mask is solid gold, beaten and burnished, and was placed over the head and shoulders of Tutankhamun's mummy, outside the linen bandages in which the whole body was wrapped. It weighs about 24 pounds. (10.9kg) The stripes of the headdress are made of blue glass. The vulture's head upon the brow, symbolizing sovereignty over Upper Egypt, is also solid gold, apart from the beak, which is made of horn-colored glass, and the inlay of the eyes, which is missing. By its side is the cobra, symbolizing sovereignty over Lower Egypt, its body made of solid gold, its head of dark blue faience, its eyes of gold cloisonne inlaid with translucent quartz backed with a red pigment, and its hood inlaid with carnelian, lapis lazuli, turquoise-colored glass, and quartz.

There has been speculation about the fate of the boy king who inherited the throne at 11, and who died around 1324 BC at age 19. Tests performed on 16 royal mummies found four, including Tut, had contracted a severe form of malaria that likely cut short Tut's reign -- ruling out murder or some other sickness.

A rebus pectoral scarab worn by King Tut-ankh-amun from Thebes. It symbolizes the birth of the moon and the sun and was part of the king's coronation regalia.

In 2014 new evidence suggested pharaoh King Tutankhamen was killed by a chariot that smashed his rib cage, shattered his pelvis, and crushed his internal organs, including his heart. After being sealed in his tomb in 1323 B.C. His mummified body caught fire and burned from flammable chemicals that built up in his decomposing body.

____________________________________________________________ Minoan Gold

Minoan, about 1850-1550 BC. 'Master (or Mistress) of the Animals' From Aigina, off the south-east coast of Greece, Aegean Sea.

The Minoan civilization was a Bronze Age society that arose on the island of Crete and flourished from about the 27th century BC to the 15th century BC. The term "Minoan" was coined after the mythic King Minos. Minos was associated in Greek myth with the labyrinth, which identified with the site at Knossos.

According to Greek mythology, King Minos of Crete had the craftsman Daedalus construct the Labyrinth in order to conceal the Minotaur. The Minotaur was a half bull and half man creature that yearly ate the Athernian tribute of fourteen young men and women.

The Bronze Age began in Crete as locals on the island developed centers of commerce. This enabled the upper classes to expand their influence. Eventually the ground would be laid for a monarchist power structure - a precondition for the creation of great empires. Around 1450 BCE, Minoan culture experienced a turning point due to a natural catastrophe, possibly an earthquake. The palace in Knossos seems to have remained largely intact. The Minoan palace sites were occupied by the Myceneans around 1420 BC. By 1200 BC the Minoans had faded into history.