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.
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The Kazanluk Tomb is of the beehive type. Thirty-four Thracian tombs have so far been discovered in Bulgaria and all of them have pre-classical vaults (false vaults) made during the period 5 th - 3 rd Century B.C. The plans of this type of tomb were varied. Some of them, apart from the burial chamber, contain a corridor and other rooms. Fifteen of the tombs found in Bulgaria have round burial chambers. The rest have square burial chambers. The round chambers were roofed with a false beehive dome, while the square ones had a flat roof or a false vault. The tombs were made of ashlar with dry joints, or of bricks and mortar.
Continue reading The Thracian Tomb of Kazanlak Architecture