Gold, Au /ɡoʊld/ (lat. Aurum ), soft bright yellow heavy metal, chemical element of group I of the periodic system of Mendeleev; atomic number 79, atomic mass 196.967. Natural gold consists of the stable isotope 197Au.
Gold items were discovered during excavations of the most ancient civilizations of the Neolithic era in the mountains of France, in Celtic burial grounds, in predynastic monuments of Egypt, among the most ancient cultural layers in India and China.