Thracian burial mound excavated

News from Bulgaria; the English may be imperfect, but the find is excellent:

A funeral of a high-ranking Thracian aristocrat, devotee of the Orpheus cult, was discovered by Bulgarian archaeologists during excavations in what they call "Thracia's sacred valley." The rich Thracian was buried in a mound near the largest yet found Thracian temple in the vicinity of the village of Starosel, 100 miles east of Bulgaria's capital Sofia. In the 5th century BC, the body of the dead aristocrat was dismembered in three pieces and buried at the foot of an apparently sacred rock. At one side of it, the ancient have built a chamber with two-level roof to resemble a sanctuary. The belongings of the chieftain were arranged in that chamber. There is a full set of arms and armour including gold-washed ruff and helmet, spears, sword, shield and arrows. Except the armour, the archeologists found silver and bronze vessels and a lot of pottery. The find that stirred the most excitement among them was a silver double-blade axe called by Thracians "labris." In Thracian civilization, it symbolized royal power. There was also a gold seal-ring engraved with an image of a horseman spearing a boar.

Posted by David on January 10, 2003 10:37 AM