The Thracian Tomb of Kazanlak ( bg, Казанлъшка гробница, ''Kazanlǎška grobnica'') is a vaulted-brickwork "beehive" (
tholos) tomb near the town of
Kazanlak
Kazanlak ( bg, Казанлък , Thracian and Greek Σευθόπολις (''Seuthopolis''), tr, Kazanlık) is a Bulgarian town in Stara Zagora Province, located in the middle of the plain of the same name, at the foot of the Balkan mountai ...
in central
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 ...
.
The tomb is part of a large royal
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 ...
necropolis
A necropolis (plural necropolises, necropoles, necropoleis, necropoli) is a large, designed cemetery with elaborate tomb monuments. The name stems from the Ancient Greek ''nekropolis'', literally meaning "city of the dead".
The term usually im ...
in the
Valley of the Thracian Rulers near their ancient capital of
Seuthopolis in a region where more than a thousand tombs of kings and members of the Thracian aristocracy can be found.
It comprises a narrow corridor and a round burial chamber, both decorated with murals representing a Thracian couple at a ritual funeral feast. The monument dates back to the 4th century BCE and has been on the
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international coope ...
protected
World Heritage Site
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...
list since 1979. The murals show horses and a gesture of farewell, in which the seated couple grasp each other's wrists in a moment of tenderness and equality (according to
Lyudmila Zhivkova—a view that is not shared by all specialists). The paintings are Bulgaria's best-preserved artistic masterpieces from the
Hellenistic period
In Classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Mediterranean history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire, as signified by the Battle of Actium in ...
.
To preserve the sensitive paintings, the tomb is not open to the public; a full-size replica was built nearby.
The seated woman of the murals is depicted on the
reverse of the Bulgarian 50
stotinki coin issued in 2005.
Bulgarian National Bank
Notes and Coins in Circulation
50 stotinkas
– Retrieved on 26 March 2009.
Gallery
Image:Thracian Tomb of Kazanlak.jpg, A scene depicting the farewell of the groom and bride.
Image:Reproduction of Thracian tomb 1.jpg, Thracian king and queen — reproduction of tomb.
Image:Reproduction of Thracian tomb 2.jpg, Chariot race — reproduction of tomb.
Image:Kazanlak-tomb 2.jpg
Image:Kazanlak-tomb-fresco-1.jpg
Image:Kazanlak-tomb-fresco-2.jpg
Image:Kazanlak-tomb-fresco-3.jpg
Image:Kazanlak-tomb 1.jpg
Image:Kazanlak-tomb 4.jpg
Image:Kazanlak-tomb 6.jpg
Image:Kazanlak-tomb 8.jpg
Image:Kazanlak-tomb 9.jpg
See also
*Thracian tomb of Aleksandrovo
The Aleksandrovo tomb is a Thracian burial mound and tomb excavated near Aleksandrovo, Haskovo Province, South-Eastern Bulgaria, dated to c. 4th century BCE.
On December 17, 2000 the tomb was accidentally uncovered by an earth-moving machine.W ...
* Thracian tomb of Cotys I
* Thracian tomb Golyama Arsenalka
* Thracian tomb Griffins
* Thracian tomb Helvetia
* Thracian tomb Ostrusha
* Thracian tomb of Seuthes III
* Thracian tomb Shushmanets
* Thracian Tomb of Sveshtari
* Valley of the Thracian Rulers
*Roman Tomb (Silistra)
The Roman Tomb of Silistra ( bg, Римска гробница в Силистра, ''Rimska grobnitsa v Silistra'') is an Ancient Roman burial tomb in the town of Silistra in northeastern Bulgaria. Dating to the mid-4th century AD, the Roman T ...
Tombs in Bulgaria
Thracian sites
References
External links
''„The Thracian Tomb in Kazanluk“''
book by Dafina Vasileva.
'' Images of the Thracian Tomb of Kazanlak''
{{Unesco-bg
Buildings and structures completed in the 4th century BC
Thracian sites
World Heritage Sites in Bulgaria
Archaeological sites in Bulgaria
Buildings and structures in Stara Zagora Province
Kazanlak
Tourist attractions in Stara Zagora Province
Tombs in Bulgaria
History of Stara Zagora Province