This year is special for the Archaeological Museum and will be commemorated with an exhibit of 13kg of gold treasure found near the region of Vulchitrun, which has never before been on view to the public for security reasons.

The National Archaeological Institute and Museum in collaboration with the Bulgarian Academy of Science is the oldest museum institution in the country - and has just celebrated its 100th anniversary. The culmination of events commemorating the first centenary was the opening of the Trezor (deposit) Hall with its permanent exhibition of ancient and priceless treasures found here in Bulgaria.

"This new exhibition hall is a creative innovation for the museum. It preserves the most glamorous and prestigious relics of the historical heritage of Bulgaria from Antiquity to the present," said Anelia Bozhkova, archaeologist at the museum.

The combination of objects on show in the Trezor Hall features relics from the emergence and height of Thracian culture. Some of them even date back to the second and first centuries BC and the Roman era (first to fourth century AD).

The Vulchitrun treasure is one of the oldest gold treasures ever found and dates back from 13-15 BC - the late Bronze Age. It represents parts of a ritual set of tableware, consisting of plates and gold casserole dish lids used in many rituals.

Bozhkova explained that the Vulchitrun treasure was found by accident in 1824, by a group of peasants working on a farm. They did not realize its value and tried to cut it and use it as tools for ploughing or cultivating the land. Some small parts of it are now ruined due to the way it was manipulated, but in general it has been kept and protected well since then, Bozhkova explained. She added that none of the displayed items in the Trezor collection need any restoration since they have been touring the European capitals of culture and have been held in professional hands at all times.

"Everything on view at the permanent exposition in the Trezor Hall is original, since the country possesses an abundance of original relics and there is no point in putting fake copies on view," Bozhkova said.

The museum itself is an extraordinary building hosted in the remains of Thracian, Greek and Roman settlements in the ivy-clad 15th century Buyuk (Big) Mosque. It has been closed for more than 10 years, being under repair and reconstruction, and is currently celebrating its centenary with the opening of a series of new halls.

A Prehistoric Hall and Middle Ages Hall will open doors for visitors until spring next year and will include some of the most precious and rare relics that the museum has ever displayed. The former will have a permanent display regarding the most ancient times from Bulgarian history, while the latter will feature the history of the first and second Bulgarian state.

According to Bozhkova, another precious and valuable collection on view in the Buyuk Mosque is the treasure from Lukovit, being quite emblematic with the Thracian toreutics (an art of using metal or other materials and embossing and chasing to form minute detailed reliefs). The silver and gold in the treasure represent parts of a ritual aristocratic set of Thracian dishes. It also consists of ammunition with the typical Thracian style of incurving and inlay.

"The jugs and amulets from the selection of the Lukovit treasure connect religion and the cult of the Thracian aristocracy's ritual for the dead. Typical Thracian relics and also skiposa (jug used only for drinking wine) were found in the region of Strelcha," Bozhkova said.

Some of the exceptional necklaces and jewellery made of precious metal together with belts and earrings from the eighth, ninth and 10th century BC are also hosted permanently in the Trezor Hall. Some of them are in a relatively recent Roman jewel-making style. Gold, silver and marble polishings have been detected on the precious stones which were kept in the National Bulgarian bank until the opening of the exhibition.

Another valuable exhibit displayed in the deposit of the Archaeological Museum consists of coinage from the earliest historical epochs. There is a wide range of different coins - made as far back as the time of the Thracian tribe Deroni (fifth and sixth century) and also coming from the period up until the Roman Empire.

The Trebnishte finds are some of the objects on show in the newly opened Trezor Hall. The area of Trebnishte (north part of Bulgaria) was the place where some soldiers came across precious finds in the First World War. Archaeologists set off for the place and explored and excavated the area to find out more about the gold and silver utensils. Bozhkova explained that hair pins, and funeral masks similar to some examples from the Mikena civilization were also found there (dating from the sixth century BC). Now the objects are being loaned to the biggest museums in Belgrade and Skopje.

The central hall of the museum holds a range of relics from almost all historical periods except for the Middle Ages and prehistory. Ceramic objects, golden jewellery and ritual artefacts have been displayed together with armoury, work tools and antique elements of ancient people's life representing archaeological relics. They were all found on Bulgarian soil.

The central hall has a rich selection of Hellenistic finds, grouped in ethnographic, archaeological, geological and other collections. The archaeological selection is enriched with Hellenistic funeral finds from the villages of Burzitza and Resilovo, which consist of architectonic sculpture and inscriptions and stone sculptures.

The museum is open every day except Monday. A guide to the museum has recently been published in both Bulgarian and English with the assistance of The Bulgarian Cultural Heritage Foundation.