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Mogilanska mound – A Burial of a Thracian princess

Mogilanska Mogila (The Mogilan Mound)

Mogilanska Mogila is a half destroyed mound in the town of Vratza which was located in the yard of a house in the very centre of the old part of the town. For the most people it was just an elevation but the archaeologists knew that there is a tumulus on this place and in1965-66 they began excavations. 3 tombs were found. One of them was robbed in antiquity and the other two were relatively preserved. Most interesting are the findings in the second tomb. A chariot with two horses in harness killed at the time of the burial are found in it. Furthermore, behind the chariot, there was a skeleton of another horse probably intended for the chariot’s driver. On the horse remains they found a silver-plated bridle, silver appliques, part of the horse trappings decoration. Next to the horse the archaeologists found the skeleton of a young woman without ornaments, and it is supposed that this is a servant girl, killed during the burial ritual to be laid next to her mistress. In the west part the experts unearthed a precious find. They found the skeleton of a young woman, about 1.50 m (59 inch) high, with a golden crown of laurels on her head and 47 golden appliques on and next to her head. It is supposed that the woman had a veil over her face decorated with these golden appliques. On her ears she had 2 exquisite golden earrings. The remains of a man were found near her. He was probably a warrior for his arms were next to him. The archaeologists found a silver knemida (greave, worn by horsemen to protect the lower leg from knee to the ankle) with many decorations and partially plated with gold, 88 spear points, a sword and a bronze shield. There were also four silver phialai, a silver jug, a rhyton-shaped amphora, 50 clay figures and other findings. The girl’s head was decorated by a golden crown of laurels. The pure gold weighed 205 g (0.45 lb). She also had massive golden earrings, whose bottom side was decorated with sphinxes and floral ornaments. Especially valuable is the mirror in her left hand. In the third tomb, partially robbed in antiquity, the skeletons of a man and a woman, golden and silver jugs, golden jewellery, clay items and iron-pointed arrows were unearthed. Two riding Thracian chariots with four horses each, driven by men in armour, are depicted on the golden jug.

The rich finds in Mogilanska Mogila confirm the assumption that it is a royal tomb, connected with the dynasty of the Tribali, who inhabited the territories of the contemporary region of Vratsa in the 4th century BC.

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The Rogozen silver treasure

The village of Rogozen is located 43 kilometers to the north of the town of Vratsa, in the middle of the Danubian Plain, between Ogosta and Iskar Rivers. The treasure is unearthed in the centre of the village in an empty plot of land, used many years as a vegetable garden.

It was an accidental finding. In 1985 the tractor driver Ivan Dimitrov was making a water main in his garden when he came upon a pile of beautiful silver vessels almost on the surface (50 cm depth). This pile consisted of 42 jugs, 22 phialai and a cup, which were handed to the employees of the museum in the town of Vratsa.

The excavations on the place confirmed to the archaeologists that the treasure was buried under extreme circumstances and probably was divided in several parts. Soon after that a second pit is found, containing 100 silver vessels buried at 40 cm depth. This part consists of 86 phialai, 12 jugs and 2 cups. Thus the overall number of the items increased to 165 silver vessels – 54 jugs, 3 cups and 108 phialai.

It is supposed that these objects belonged to a local noble family and were gathered for many years — from the 5th century BC to the 40s of the 4th century BC. On some of the vessels are engraved different inscriptions, which gave us the names of various Thracian rulers and gold- and silversmiths who made the vessels.

The decoration of found objects represents many scenes from the Thracian and Greek mythology, proof of the strong relationship and cultural exchanges between ancient Greeks and the Thracian tribes.

The Rogozen treasure is the biggest Thracian treasure found so far.

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The Panagyurishte gold treasure

The golden treasure from Panagyurishte was found in 1949 two kilometers to the south of Panagyurishte. It is dated back to the end of the 4th and the beginning of the 3rd century BC . The treasure consists of an extremely beautiful set with rich decorations and ornaments. It was used in feasts or in libations and rituals related to the Thracian mythology. It consists of 9 vessels made of pure gold, weighing over 6 kg (13.2 lb).

Four of the rhyta are shaped as animals’ heads or torsos – ram, goat, and two of them have fallow deer heads. The upper part of the rhyta is decorated with scenes and heroes from the Greek mythology. On one of the rhyta are depicted god Dionysus with Ariadne (a Cretan princess) on the feast on the occasion of their wedding. Three of the vessels are jugs with Amazon heads. Their handles are formed as mythological creatures with animal figures and human heads.

A skilfully made shallow bowl, called phiale, is also found. There are four concentric circles on it, with 24 relief ornaments in each circle, which become smaller from the rim to the centre of the phiale. The biggest and the next two circles are arranged with Negro heads, and the last, most internal, circle consists of a row of acorns. Between the rows of elements the phiale is decorated with floral ornaments.

Most interesting regarding its form and decoration is the big amphora. Its handles are formed as fighting centaurs, and the two openings for pouring the wine, located at the bottom end of the vessel, represent Negro heads. Between the Negro heads is the figure of the child Heracles, fighting the snake. The amphora is richly decorated with realistic scenes from the Greek mythology.

The items of the Panagyurishte Treasure form a rich and expensive gold set with a great artistic value and a ritual function. The treasure has an enormous significance regarding the study of the Thracians, their way of life, relations with Hellenic culture and their similar believes.

After the vessels were examinated, the archaeologists arrived at several hypotheses concerning the origin of the vessels. The most popular are two of them: the first is that the items are made in the settlement, called Lampsak, a Hellenic colony, located on the southern Black Sea coast, contemporary Turkey. And the second hypothesis, which predominates after the recent archaeological excavations and having in mind the high quality craftsmanship of the found items, is that the set is made in a local goldsmith’s workshop, located in the Panagyurishte region.

Who was the owner of the treasure? Is it possible to be a possession of some of the Odrysian kings? What made him hide it in the ground? We can’t get precise answers. We can only guess, but in spite of all that we can feast our eyes on the Panagyurishte golden treasure and treat it as a precious, highly artistic and unique witness of antiquity.

Video – The Panagyurishte golden treasure

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The Lukovit silver treasure

Thracian silver treasure, dates back to the second half of the 4th century BC. It is found accidentally in 1953 near the town of Lukovit. It consists of two groups of items:

Horse-trappings appliques and

Vessels (9 vessels — 5 phialai, 3 jugs and a bowl)

The items are made of silver and some of them are partially plated with gold to underline the artistic figures and the decoration. The phialai and the bowl are rich decorated with plants, human heads and other elements. On the appliques there are often depicted animal figures: lion, griffin, dog, deer, etc. Figures of horsemen, very typical to the Thracian art, can be also seen. A lion attacking a deer whose legs are folded under the body is depicted on two of the appliques of the Lukovit treasure. On another applique two horsemen chase lions, who – overtaken – fall under the hooves of the horses. These scenes from the Thracian art have a definite social meaning. They are related to the glorifying of royal power. The rulers and their parties were spreading by all means the legends for their divine origin and even with the decoration of the horse trappings they made ordinary people believe in it and knuckle under to them.

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The Letnitsa silver treasure

The Letnitsa treasure was an accidental discovery.

In 1963 workers from a farm in the village of Letnitsa decided to build a new sheep house. While digging, at 50–60 centimeters, they came across a bronze vessel turned upside down. It was full of little silver items, some of them decorated with gold. They shared the treasure. Later on the curator of the museum of the near town of Lovech collected the items with the help of the doctor of the village, who witnessed the unearthing.

Save the silver items, some of which were very small, typical for the horse trappings from the 4th century BC, there was a well-preserved rein. It consisted of two iron braces, which were used to hold the bridle to the halter, and a bit-chain.

The cycle of illustrations of historic scenes on a group of plaques is very interesting. On some plaques the protagonist is represented as a horseman fighting and defeating bears and wolves, on other he is throwing his spear, followed by his servant.

The Letnitsa treasure plaques throw some light on the mythology of the ancient Thracians and their believes, which allows us to take a look at the culture and conception of world of these distant predecessors.

The Letnitsa treasure is exhibited in the National Archaeological Museum in Sofia.