Category Archives: Hungary

The Golden Diadem of Velem (Hungary)

This diadem and its discs were discovered in August, 1929, during an archaeological excavation by Baron Kálmán in Miske, on the eastern spur of the Alps, in the area of St. Vid Hill in Velem, Hungary.

It would have been part of the costume worn by a lady of high rank in the Late Bronze Age. The diadem and roundels were gold foils, which had originally been mounted onto bronze backplates, which were then mounted onto organic backings. However, because it was found in a hoard of valuables, archeologists concluded that the owner buried this treasure. This explains why the band was folded when it was found, and why the twisted gold wire spirals were in such a sorry state.

A restoration between 2004 and 2006 by Katalin T. Bruder, the chief restorer of the Hungarian National Museum provided us with the pieces we see today.