Golyama Arsenalka mound is a

Thracian The Thracians (; grc, Θρᾷκες ''Thrāikes''; la, Thraci) were an Indo-European speaking people who inhabited large parts of Eastern and Southeastern Europe in ancient history.. "The Thracians were an Indo-European people who occupied ...

burial

tumulus A tumulus (plural tumuli) is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds or '' kurgans'', and may be found throughout much of the world. A cairn, which is a mound of stones ...

with a subterranean stone building near the

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...

n town of Shipka. It dates from the end of 5th century BCE. It is composed of a representative

façade A façade () (also written facade) is generally the front part or exterior of a building. It is a loan word from the French (), which means ' frontage' or ' face'. In architecture, the façade of a building is often the most important aspect ...

, a small antechamber and a domed chamber. The entrances have been closed with double stone doors. The floor of the antechamber is made of rammed soil, while the domed chamber is made up of specially fitted stones. In the center of the domed chamber there is a circular

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies un ...

block. On the floor underneath it is a cavity surrounded by a ring of stones resembling the cult fireplaces in Seutopolis. Opposite to the entrance, there is a bed with east-west orientation. The temple was used for a funeral of a ruler or a nobleman. It was robbed of its valuables in

antiquity Antiquity or Antiquities may refer to: Historical objects or periods Artifacts *Antiquities, objects or artifacts surviving from ancient cultures Eras Any period before the European Middle Ages (5th to 15th centuries) but still within the histo ...

, but parts of a gilt breast plate, two small gold ornaments, and bones of horses were found during excavations in the antechamber.

References

*Проблеми и изследвания на тракийската култура, том І - V (Problems and research of the Thracian culture, Volume I - V) {{coord, 42, 41, 58.704, N, 25, 18, 33.48, E, display=title Tombs in Bulgaria Thracian sites History of Stara Zagora Province

See also

References