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

MessageToEagle.com – The Valley of Thracian Kings is a very special place with numerous burial mounds (tumuli) containing tombs and graves of the Thracian rulers and high aristocrats.

The tumuli are located in the valley of the Central Bulgarian town of Kazanlak excavated by the late Bulgarian archaeologist Georgi Kitov, specializing in Ancient Thrace.

Kitov excavated most of the tombs in the Kazanlak Valley and named it the Valley of the Thracian Kings.

Valley of the Thracian Kings
Valley of the Thracian Kings

Approximaly 300 burial mounds have been already excavated but archaeologists believe that over 1,500 of them have their location in the valley.

Thracian Tomb of Kazanlak – accidentally discovered in 1944 – dates from the Hellenistic period, around the end of the 4th century BC. It has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1979.

A mural in the burial chamber in a replica of the Thracian tomb of Kazanlak, dates back to the 4th century BC in the central Bulgarian town of Kazanlak. Photo credit: AFP/Dimitar Dilkoff.
A mural in the burial chamber in a replica of the Thracian tomb of Kazanlak, dates back to the 4th century BC in the central Bulgarian town of Kazanlak. Photo credit: AFP/Dimitar Dilkoff.

It is located near Seutopolis, the capital city of the Thracian king Seutes III, and is part of a large Thracian necropolis. The tholos has a narrow corridor and a round burial chamber, both decorated with murals representing Thracian burial rituals and culture.

These paintings are Bulgaria’s best-preserved artistic masterpieces from the Hellenistic period.

The Thracians were skilled goldsmiths and possessed advanced knowledge of metalworking and horsemanship. It is  believed that the Thracians had no alphabet of their own and left no written records.

A mural of a woman's face can be seen in the burial chamber in a Ostrusha tumulus that dated back the middle of the 4th century BC, near the central Bulgarian town of Kazanlak. Photo credit: AFP/Dimitar Dilkoff.
A mural of a woman’s face can be seen in the burial chamber in a Ostrusha tumulus that dated back the middle of the 4th century BC, near the central Bulgarian town of Kazanlak. Photo credit: AFP/Dimitar Dilkoff.

They believed in the afterlife and the immortality of the soul, and buried deceased rulers with their horses, dogs, weapons, drinking cups and even playing dice.

The kings were considered sons of the great goddess Mother Earth and the burial rites were highly symbolic.

Thracian Tomb at Kazanlak is one of the best preserved in Bulgaria.
Thracian Tomb at Kazanlak is one of the best preserved in Bulgaria.

The ancient Thracians were an ethno-cultural group of Indo-European tribes that inhabited much of Southeast Europe (modern-day Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova, Greece, Turkey, Macedonia, Serbia) from about the middle of the second millennium BC to about the 6th century AD.

The Thracians believed that when the king ends his journey in this world, he must return to the womb of his mother. Therefore, these ancient people built the artificial mounds around their funeral structures, researchers believe.

Thracian Valley of The Kings
Thracian Valley of The Kings

In addition to the treasures, the bushy tumuli also conceal a variety of exquisite burial monuments. Built from huge granite blocks or bricks, they consist of a corridor and one or more chambers, with each revealing its own meticulous design and beautiful ornamentation.

There are many tombs but no two tombs are alike.

See also:

Late Roman Graves Unearthed In Ancient Otrusha Tomb In Bulgaria

Inside, a slim column helps support the vaulted ceiling of the burial chamber, the walls of which are adorned by seven half columns. The Ostrusha tumulus nearby contained a sarcophagus-like chamber hewn from a single granite block thought to have weighed 60 tonnes.

Bronze head of Thracian king Seuthes III ,Kosmatka mound (tomb Seuthes III) inThe Valley of The Kings
Bronze head of Thracian king Seuthes III, Kosmatka mound (tomb Seuthes III) in The Valley of The Kings

The traces of civilized life indicate that the Thracians continued many of the traditions of the prehistoric people who inhabited the region in today’s Central Bulgaria.

One of the most beautiful monuments of the Thracian civilization in the Valley of the Thracian Kings, is the temple-tomb of Seuthes III. Probably the richest Thracian king tomb dates back to the 5th century BC. It is located  near the Bulgarian town of Shipka, Kazanlak municipality. The temple was buried under the 20-meter(66 ft) high “Golyamata Kosmatka” mound.

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