The Antique Mound heaped on a stone basis is situated near Villa Armira in the outskirts of the village of Svirachi. Usage of the mound and its installations is dated to the period of the Roman epoch (1st-5th Century), precisely during the early period of the reign of Emperor Trajan (97-117 AD). The mound was likely used as a family necropolis for the proprietors of Villa Armira.

The 16-meter high mound is heaped on a massive stone construction with a total length of approximately 200m, surrounding its base. The construction is a unique representative of the ancient architecture from the early Roman epoch and is the only one of its kind on the territory of Bulgaria. Stone tiling was laid upon a foundation built in a complex manner of stone and plaster. The whole construction was built following a pre-prepared architectural plan. The tiling blocks are 3.7m long, each one cut in a catenary shape in its outer end. The stones are amphitheatrically arranged in ten rows. They are connected by massive iron cramps, soldered with lead. The mound is composed of many small, heaped hillocks made from the soil taken from the surrounding territory. Ancient materials, perhaps taken from a nearby prehistoric settlement, were also found in the mound.

The integrity of the mound was compromised many times – from antiquity and during the Russian-Turkish War for Liberation in 1878, when defensive facilities were built there and probably destroyed some of its installations. Two secondary burial sites were discovered during archeological excavations (built later than the mound). The first burial site was for an infant and is surrounded with marble plates. The second burial site was for a young man cremated on a funeral pile built on a preliminary leveled terrace. The remains of the pyre were piled in the center of the terrace and covered with flat tiles. The funeral included rich offerings – bronze, marble, glass and clay vessels, toilet boxes ornate with applications, masks and a breastplate – symbols of the Thracian aristocracy – finery and amulets. Two antique chariots were also found near the mound.

The fortress is situated on a wide plateau on the top of a ridge 2.2km westwards of the town of Madjarovo. The road leading to the fortress is very picturesque and suitable for cars and walking tours. There is a chapel built near the fortress, in which a fair of the surrounding villages is held every May 24th. Obviously the place was honored from ancient times. During an archeological investigation, a Thracian sanctuary was discovered near a rock, north of the fortress. An impound-domed well built there is still used by local people for ritual washings during the local fair.
Continue reading Ancient Cult Complex and Fortress at Madjarovo municipality

The Thracian tomb was built and then a four-meter high mound was piled over it. The burial site is composed of rectangular burial chamber, antechamber and a corridor. The burial chamber was built of marble and limestone blocks joined with iron clamps poured with lead. The floor was paved with marble plates. The chamber was covered with huge lime-stone blocks. The first row of the walls was made of cubic marble plates, in which decorations were chiseled out. Geometrical figures – discs, plates, rectangles, pentacles, as well as two realistic zoomorphic images – a fish and the head of a horse – are part of the decoration of the tomb. These figures along with the half-moon chiseled out near the entrance form a composition with strong aesthetic impact that most probably hides encoded information related to the burial cult.

Continue reading Thracian Tomb near the village of Dolno Lukovo, Ivailovgrad municipality Bulgaria

The territory of another Thracian people , the Getae, spread in the northeastern part of the present-day Bulgarian state. The remains of their capital, Helis, were discovered in the remarkable natural environment near the villages of Sveshtari and Sboryanovo. In immediate proximity there are more than 100 tumuli making up the royal necropolis of the ruler of Getae.
Continue reading The Sacred Tombs of the Rulers of the Getae

There are thousands of Thracian tumuli in the Bulgarian lands. However, the area around Kazanluk features very prominently among them, having deserved the name “The Valley of the Kings”. The tombs there are dated to the 5th - 4th century BC, and - similar to the Starosel - they demonstrate the flourishing of the Odrysian state.
Continue reading The Valley of the Kings near Kazanlak

The Thracian states emerged early, but they can be traced only after 5th - 4th century BC. The structures created before the names of the royal-priestly ruling dynasties: Bessi, Triballoi, Getae and Edonoi. According to Herodotus, the Thracians were the most numerous people in the world after the Indians, but they never managed to unite in one state. During the 5th - 4th century BC, the kingdom of the Odrysae stretching in the lands between the Black Sea, the Danube and the Rhodope Mountains became most powerful. The ruins of its capital Seuthopolis are near the present-day town of Kazanluk.

The most famous kings of the Odrysae were Teres (490-464 BC) and Sitalkes (464-424 BC), who were among the prominent historical figures of their time. The important archaelogical discoveries made near the village of Starosel, Kazanluk area, are associated precisely with them. A peculiar temple-tomb was found there in an enormous mound, possibly intended for King Sitalkes.
Continue reading The Temple Buried near the Village of Starosel