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History and Religion
Published on July 26, 2005 at 6:27 PM BG
Updated on August 05, 2005 at 3:57 PM BG
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Thracian regal burial unearthed in mound in environs of village of Zlatinitza, Yambol region, southeastern Bulgaria

A team of archaeologists from the Archaeological Institute cum museum with the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences unearthed on July 24 the remains of a Thracian ostentatious regal burial. The team is led by professor Daniela Agre and has been working on the site for nearly a month. Here is the Director of the National Museum of History Dr. Bozhidar Dimitrov, a co-partner in the excavation works. 

“The two insignias found attest to the fact that this is a regal burial. The first one is the gold wreath around the head, and the second is the massive gold ring, bearing the inscription of a Thracian horseman. Kings used to be represented on horseback. The composition is completed by the figure of a young woman taller than the horseman, a goddess apparently, who is placing the gold wreath on the horseman’s head. This is a typical image of the coronation ceremonies at that time.  The ruler was buried in full armour: a bronze helmet richly ornated with replicas of snakes and floral motives, an iron chain armour and a silver greave also richly decorated with scenes from Thracian mythology. The ruler was buried with his two horses, and the team has found rich ammunitions with dozens of silver applications on them, a true bestiary indeed. Some of the minor funeral offerings include two silver rhytons shaped like the heads of reindeer; four silver phials, 5 bronze receptacles, and painted Greek utensils, representing the Attica red-figure ceramics, amphorae, a quiver and a sword.”

The find dates back to the 4th century B.C. Says Bozhidar Dimitrov,

“We thought at first a Scythian king was buried in the mound. But the Scythians did not inhabit this part of the country. They used to settle in what is today northern Dobrudzha in present-day Romania. After we unearthed the finds we decided that the king did not have the time to build a tomb in his lifetime. It is a truth universally acknowledged that Thracian rulers erected their own tombs just like Egyptian pharaohs did. In their lifetime they used them as sanctuaries, and when they died they were buried inside and sealed with soil. In this case, however, the ruler must have died very young.”

The fact that the ruler was not buried in a tomb, but inside a burial pit some three metres underground, and sealed with 16 cubic metres of stones saved in fact the site from treasure hunters. The finds will be transported for further examination in Sofia.

 

Written by Veneta Pavlova

English version by Radostin Zhelev
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