Skopje, 10 October 2023 (MIA) — The archaelogical exhibition "105 Years Since the Discovery of the Necropolis at Trebenishte" opened Monday in the National Archaeological Institute with Museum at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences in Sofia, Bulgaria.

North Macedonia's Deputy Minister of Culture Daim Luçi addressed the opening ceremony saying the exhibit had stirred great interest in the Macedonian public. "I believe that the golden masks from Trebenishte and the hundreds of valuable artifacts from this extremely attractive archeological site will awaken the curiosity of the Bulgarian public, too," he said.

Archaeological Museum of the Republic of North Macedonia Director Slavica Babamova said the exhibition was the result of the painstaking and dedicated joint work of experts and professionals from the museums of North Macedonia, Bulgaria, and Serbia to tell "the fascinating archaeological story of the aristocracy that lived in the Ohrid Region in the 6th and the 5th century BC."

"Trebenishte and its magnificent finds gained new meaning in the 21st century," Babamova said, "becoming the Sofia, Belgrade, and Skopje museums' common goal to make this exhibition happen.

"Trebenishte has now become an example of a successful international project. Its realization required enormous enthusiasm, mutual understanding, knowledge and commitment of our three neighboring Balkan states' professionals."

Babamova added that promoting cultural heritage together and presenting it to the general public was also a promotion of North Macedonia, Bulgaria and Serbia's shared European values.

The best known archaeological findings from the necropolis near Trebenishte are the funeral golden masks, but the exhibit showcases many other valuable objects, such as gold hand-shaped ornaments, sandals, gold bracelets, amber and other types of jewelry, ceramic objects, weapons, helmets, and pottery believed to have been used by members of aristocracy that lived in today's village of Trebenishte, 14 km away from Ohrid.

The exhibition was first on display in Skopje in 2019 and will be mounted in Belgrade in 2025. It is also planned for the exhibit to be shown at other international museums, according to the Ministry of Culture. mr/