By: Arben Llapashtica

Before the California Gold Rush, there was Novo Brdo. The eastern Kosovo community dating back to the fourth century BC once thrived with thousands of people and bountiful mines. These days its fortress lies in ruins and its people have all but vanished. But some modern-day forty-niners still prospect in hopes of finding a legendry gold chest, all while robbing Kosovo of its cultural heritage in the process.

Despite the romance of Novo Brdo’s bygone glory, “Gold Fever” is a sad story. The precious metal is an elusive ghost. The locals all seem to know someone who found gold, but there is nothing to show for it. That glimmer of hope, however, is a powerful drug. “Everyone here thinks about digging,” one man says.

So with the prospectors largely coming away empty-handed, all that remains is the senseless damage to Novo Brdo.

“There is a real enigma here.

… They keep trying in order to find the jar of gold, but there are no results,” a police commander says. “They did nothing but destroy this site of special historic and cultural importance.”

 

--Nate Tabak