Thracian treasures on Alexander’s northern border

Thracians remain a relatively obscure people somewhere north of ancient Macedonia. It was long thought that they had no writing, but rare examples of inscriptions have been discovered using Greek letters that did not make sense. As a result, the history of the Thracians is only known through what other ancient authors tell us. 

Thracia is generally associated with Bulgaria. In antiquity, its borders extended from the Danube River, the Hellespont, the Bosporus, and the Black Sea in the east to Macedonia in the west. Today, the Greek province of Thracia still stretches from the Rhodope Mountains on its northern border with Bulgaria to the Aegean. It is squeezed between the Nestos River in the west and the Hebros in the east, forming the modern border with Turkey. 

[Photo: Todor Dimitrov/Courtesy of the Regional Historical Museum, Ruse, Bulgaria]

One of the most characteristic heritages of Thracian civilization is their profusion of burial mounds – a tradition that goes back to the Bronze Age, the middle of the 4th-2nd millennium BC. In central Bulgaria alone, over 1,500 such tumuli exist. 

The treasures of these tumuli in Bulgaria, went to the National Archaeological Museum in Sofia, otherwise to other European museums. More typical Thracian tumuli exist in Greece's Province of Thracia (see: Thracian Tombs at Doxipara, Greece). 

The great merit of the Thracians is their exceptional craftsmanship, especially in creating gold and silver objects. Most such testimonies come from grave mounds, which yielded a great variety of treasures, including the best-known Tomb of Kazanlak (see: Valley of the Thracian Kings). 

These precious legacies are occasionally brought together for special exhibitions. In 2015, the Louvre organized The Saga of the Thracian Kings. In 2002, an imposing number of objects were displayed at Bozar in Brussels in the frame of Europalia. 

I have not visited the Paris exhibition but have vivid memories of the one in Brussels. I marveled, for instance, at the gold jewelry from the Chalcolithic era (5-4,000 BC). Since the treasures from that era look very similar to those created in the 5-400 BC, I got my mental references mixed up. Other objects, however, looked like the forerunners of Cycladic Art. 

The collections presented in Paris in 2015 come from the Chernozem-Kaloyanovo and Mushovitsa tombs and the Kosmatka Tumulus of Seuthes III, King of Thracia, who died in 300 BC (see: Valley of the Thracian Kings). For the first time, some of the exhibited artifacts were brought together. 

The link to Architectural Digest displays an inspirational number of objects worth to be relished one by one.

Valley of the Thracian Kings, Bulgaria

In my opinion, there are other and more urgent priorities in Bulgaria than to stimulate tourism and archaeological projects, but the Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister apparently think otherwise. They have decided to spend 3,5 million Leva (approx. 12,25 million Euros) on the entire project. 

A share of 3,5 million Leva (approx. 1,75 million Euros) is allotted to boost tourism in the Valley of the Thracian Kings in the Kazanlak area and study a Thracian tomb near the village of Buzovgrad. One million Leva will go towards archaeological studies, two millions towards infrastructure, and 500,000 Leva to improving water supply and sanitation. Bulgarian authorities hope that the Valley of the Thracian Kings will be added to UNESCO’s list of protected cultural heritage since they plan to link ten Thracian tombs together.

These Thracian tombs deserve much more attention than they are getting presently, for they are so unique! Several years ago, I had the opportunity to visit the Kazanlak Tomb, and I was very disappointed to learn on the spot that I only would see a replica. The original tomb was sealed off to protect it from outside influences; the inside air was kept at a steady temperature to guarantee the highest possible conservation level. A very understandable measure, of course, but utterly disappointing when you come all the way to see a mere copy. I hope this new project will enable the curious visitor to see part of the magnificent original wall paintings. 

This was several years ago after visiting an exhibition about the history of Bulgaria. It was an overwhelming experience, and I remember how I stared at the map of Bulgaria in an unsuccessful attempt to recognize any of the cities. All I could match with my memory was the capital Sofia and the town of Plovdiv because this was ancient Philippopolis founded by Philip II of Macedonia. The country was bordered in the north by Romania and in the south by Greece. Its eastern frontier touched the Black Sea, that much I knew, but that was about all. The exhibited artifacts were stunning, reaching back as far as 8,000 BC. This date was so abstract that I thought I was walking in circles when I arrived at the showcases with pieces from 800 BC! The artifacts showed such a high level of craftsmanship, an eye for details, and delicate and intricate work of precious metals, wood, bone, etc., that I was utterly baffled. I had no idea. 

This led me to visit Bulgaria to know more of its history, and one of the highlights for me obviously was Kazanlak, a city founded in the 7th century BC by the Thracians with a unique tomb that was discovered by chance in 1944 while digging around the Roman Baths built on top of it. The word “kazan” literally means “still,” very much like the stills used till recently in the rose industry.

The Kazanlak Tomb, built during the 4th/3rd century BC, was smaller than I expected and counted three separate rooms: the entrance where the guests gathered for the funeral; a corridor with a pointed arched ceiling that reminded me of Agamemnon’s tomb although this one was painted; and finally the inner chamber where the walls and the circular ceiling were covered with frescos as well. The quality of these paintings clearly showed Greek influence yet executed conforming to Thracian traditions, how amazing! A novelty in those days was the perspective achieved by creating the light and shade effect. 

The Thracians could take up to six wives, and their favorite, generally the youngest one, was “allowed” to accompany her husband to the hereafter – a definite honor. Depends upon your opinion, of course. They considered that dying was a happy event because babies cried when they came into this world, meaning that the place they just left must simply be a better one. This is why the deceased is represented accompanied by his favorite wife and several highly prized horses. 

Evidently, there are many more tombs to visit, like the one of Buzovgrad mentioned above but also, I suppose, many others. The ones coming to my mind are the Ostrusha Tumulus near Shipka that counted six rooms. Also, the still sealed As mentioned before, a few remarkable tombs definitely deserve close attention. However, the Kazanlak Tomb is understandably closed to the public, who can visit a substitute replica next door.  from the 5th century BC. It contained a stunning massive gold vial in the shape of a gold mask like those discovered in Mycenae and Macedonia. However, this one was made from a much thicker sheet of gold. Finally, the Kosmatka Tumulus contained a splendid temple with an impressive façade where King Seuthes III, the founder of Seuthopolis, was buried in the early 3rd century BC. His magnificent head made of bronze shows a good-looking man, inspiring intelligence and nobility, indeed not the traits of a barbarian as one might think. 

In fact, I can’t wait till these unique tombs and tumuli are entirely made accessible to the public, another priority to put on my list!