Archaeologists have found in Bulgaria a very small bead that may be the world’s oldest gold artifact ever unearthed.
The piece, found in the southern town of Pazardzhik, is believed to date back to 4,500-4,600 BC, which makes it 200 years older than jewellery from a Copper Age also found in Bulgaria 44 years ago, Reuters reported.
Researchers believe that the bead, which measures four millimetres (0.16 inches) in diameter and weighs just 15 centigrams (0.005 ounces), was made at a site just outside the modern town of Pazardzhik.
Between 1972 and 1991, archaeologists found almost 6 kg (13 pounds) of gold artifacts buried in a necropolis outside the Bulgarian Black Sea port of Varna. Until now, one of those artifacts was deemed as the world’s smallest ever found.
Once the recently unearthed bead has been thoroughly analyzed and its age confirmed, it will be exhibited in the historical museum of Pazardzhik.