LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - Researchers say that the artifacts date to the end of the fourth or the beginning of the third century BC. The objects were discovered in the biggest of 150 ancient tombs of the Getae people, a Thracian tribe once in contact with the Hellenistic world. A golden ring, 44 female figure depictions and 100 golden buttons were found in the recent dig.

"These are amazing findings from the apogee of the rule of the Getae," Diana Gergova, head of the archaeologist team says. Gergova, a researcher of Thracian culture with the Sofia-based National Archaeology Institute, says that "From what we see up to now, the tomb may be linked with the first known Getic ruler, Cothelas."

The area is at the ancient Getic burial complex near the village of Sveshtari, about 250 miles north-east of Sofia. The Tomb of Sveshtari, one of the tombs there, is included in the UNESCO world heritage list for its unique architectural decor showing half-human, half-plant female figures and painted murals.

Ruled by a powerful warrior aristocracy wealthy for their gold treasures, the Thracians inhabited an area extending over modern Romania and Bulgaria, northern Greece and the European part of Turkey from 4000 BC.

They lived on the fringes of the Greek and Roman civilizations, often intermingling and clashing with the more advanced cultures until they were absorbed, in about the year 45, into the Roman empire. Archaeologists have discovered a large number of artifacts in Bulgaria's Thracian tombs in recent decades, providing most of what is known of their culture as they had no written language and left no enduring records.

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