SOFIA, Bulgaria (November 8, 2012)--Archaeologists say they have unearthed an almost 2,400-year-old golden hoard in an ancient Thracian tomb in northern Bulgaria.

The unique treasure was found on Thursday near the village of Sveshtari, some 250 miles northeast of Sofia, team leader Diana Gergova said.

She said that among the artifacts, dating back to the end of the fourth or the beginning of the third century B.C., were gold jewelry and applications for horse trappings, a tiara with reliefs of lions and fantasy animals, as well as four bracelets and a ring.

The Thracians lived in what is now Bulgaria, as well as in parts of modern Greece, Romania, Macedonia, and Turkey between 4,000 B.C. and the 7th century A.D., when the invading Slavs assimilated them.