A joint expedition in Thrace has uncovered three copper-bound ritual threshing-sledges dating back to the Chalcolithic period (approx. 4000 BC). Unlike standard agricultural tools, these sledges were inlaid with decorative copper studs and found in a ceremonial pit filled with thousands of charred wheat seeds. This discovery provides the earliest evidence for the 'First-Grain' festivals, which celebrated the harvest and the transition of labor into communal wealth.
The sledges were used in a ritualized processing of grain that likely involved music and dancing, as evidenced by the percussion-marked stones found nearby. The high concentration of 'votive' grain suggests that a portion of the first harvest was ritually destroyed or offered to deities in exchange for future fertility. These findings demonstrate that the origins of European harvest festivals are rooted in the very first sedentary farming communities of the Balkans.