KARAGATCH, Bulgaria, Aug, 9 (AP)—A peasant plowing near this village turned up one of the most interesting archeological finds made in recent years, When the plow struck an obstruction the peasant found it was a slab of marble. Lifting this a marble tomb was disclosed and within lay a suit of bronze armor of a Roman knight, together with shield, sword, spear and several utensils, including an exquisite vase.
Director Velkoff, of the National Museum, and Mr. Popoff, an expert on Greek antiquities, estimate that the find dates back to the pre-Alexandine period. They surmise that he may have been a dweller of a Hellenic colony on the Black Sea coast.
On the helmet, well preserved and of a high order of workmanship, were the figures of Apollo, Pallas Athene, Poseidon, Minerva and Mars. One ear-piece found bore the figure of Zeus with the trident. The other ear-piece was lacking.
The helmet was silvered, and some of the white metal still adhered. The human figure that once bore the helmet and carried the weapons was entirely absent, except in the form of ashes in small amount.
“The knight who bore the armor was evidently a high personage,” said Director Velkoff. “Therefore, after his body had been deposited in the grave it was burned, an early instance of cremation,”
The Cordele Dispatch and Daily Sentinel, Cordele, Georgia, August 29, 1924