Helvetia Tomb – Griffins’ Tomb In Valley Of Thracian Kings – Restoration Begins

MessageToEagle.com – Both the Helvetia Tomb and the Griffins’ Tomb are located near the town of Shipka, part of Kazanluk municipality, in South-Eastern planing region of Bulgaria.

They were discovered in 1996 by late Bulgarian archaeologist Georgi Kitov, and date back to the 5th/4th century BC.

Now, archaeologists begin the restoration of these two famous ancient tombs in the Valley of Thracian Kings, with funding from the European Economic Area (EEA) and Norway Grants.

See also:

Valley of Thracian Kings With More Than 1,500 Ancient Burial Mounds

The Ancient Thracian burial mound (tumulus) known as the Helvetia Tomb, was named after the Swiss foundation Helvetia, which supported Kitov’s archaeological excavations at the time, while the Griffins’ Tomb was named after the griffin figures depicted at its entrance.

It is the second tumulus from the necropolis around the Shushmanets Mound.

The stone funeral bed and stone benches found inside it indicate that the tomb was used as a mausoleum-shrine where Orphic Mysteries(connected with the cult for mythical Ancient Thracian poet Orpheus) were probably performed.

The tomb had a mechanism for locking from the inside. A small furrow at its doorstep indicates that sacrifices were performed there, which is the first time this has been discovered in a Thracian tomb.

The Helvetia tomb-shrine was emptied or robbed in the Antiquity period.

Yet, the Bulgarian archaeologists have found there several silver artifacts including silver applications and buttons as well as two fully preserved horse skeletons.

MessageToEagle.com

source: Archaeology in Bulgaria