First mentioned in Homer's "Iliad" as allies of Troy, the Thracians were an Indo-European nomadic people who settled in the central Balkans around 5,000 years ago. They were conquered by Rome in the 1st century, and were assimilated by invading Slav peoples in the 6th century. They had no written language, and so left no records.
Fierce warriors and horse-breeders, the Thracians were also skilled goldsmiths. They established a powerful kingdom in the 5th century B.C. Its capital was thought to be Seutopolis, whose ancient ruins lie under a large artificial lake near Shipka, in an area dubbed "the Bulgarian Valley of Kings" for its many rich tombs.
2 comments:
Christy
Great that you found some art even older than what I've been experiencing. I love Greek mythology, and would someday love to experience the sights in person.
Update - I have returned my rental car, but not before taking another trip to the North Korean border - and buying a spoon/chopstick set made in North Korea by a South Korean company, at a joint industrial park a few miles to the north.
Ally McRepuke
This is truly remarkable, Christy. But how miserable that there is so little money for the archaeologists to retrieve and protect the finds. Before the looters get their greedy, grubby hands on it all for profit.
Surely these things belong to the people of the world so we all should be ensuring that sites like these are fully protected.
Easy for me to say. Come on government of Bulgaria. You have treasure here that can't even be imagined. Take care of it. Jail the looters.
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