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| Тема |
 Re: National Geographic: Bulgaria's Gold Rush [re: бaш бyrapaш] |
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| Автор |
бaш бyrapaш (мин. на проп.) |
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| Публикувано | 18.11.06 18:27 |
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Golden Splendor
Photograph by Kenneth Garrett
Photographed at National Archaeological Museum, Sofia
The lure of such fabulous artifacts as the solid gold mask of a fifth-century B.C.
Thracian king inspires both legal and illegal excavators.
Finding El Dorado
Photograph by Kenneth Garrett
Archaeologist Georgi Kitov counts the grave of third-century B.C. Thracian King
Seuthes III—entered through a vaulted stone hall—as one of his many finds in the
Kazanluk Valley.
Buried Treasure
Photograph by Kenneth Garrett
Photographed at National Archaeological Museum, Sofia
A noble head cast in bronze, likely severed from a life-size statue, was buried in
front of the entrance to a Thracian stone tomb in the late fourth century B.C.
Unearthed in 2004 as archaeologist Georgi Kitov began to excavate the site, near the town of Kazanluk, the finely rendered portrait offered Kitov his first hint that he was onto something extraordinary. Inside the burial chamber lay a fabulous array of royal artifacts, many of gold—a crown of delicate oak leaves and acorns, a drinking bowl, gold fibers from a carpet, and more. Inscriptions on three artifacts identify the deceased: Seuthes III, a tribal king of the Thracians.
A Culture of War
Photograph by Kenneth Garrett
Photographed at Iskra History Museum, Kazanlak
Crowned with images of the Thracian mother goddess, two bronze shin guards were interred in the tomb of King Seuthes III along with his bronze helmet, a leather breastplate, and an iron sword. Famed for their great skill, Thracian metalworkers also created ornate shin guards of silver and gold. Homer, the classical Greek writer, paid tribute to this tradition of fine military equipment when describing a Thracian king in the Iliad: "Golden is his armor that he brought with him, marvelous, a wonder to behold; such as it is in no wise fit for mortal men to bear, but for the deathless gods."
Beauty in Battle
Photograph by Kenneth Garrett
Photographed at National Museum of History, Sofia
A royal tomb near Zlatinitsa yielded a goddess-shaped shin guard.
In the Trenches
Photograph by Kenneth Garrett
In a few days of digging, Kitov's team put a trench through a ritual mound near uk. Countless sites in Thracian lands have yet to be excavated.
Looking for Traces of Thrace
Photograph by Kenneth Garrett
As a metal detector scans for riches, Kitov, in the center at right, inspects a trench dug into a Thracian mound by machine. The team found nothing, but the mound had probably covered a ritual platform.
Who Were the Thracians?
Photograph by Kenneth Garrett
Feared warriors and skilled horsemen, Thracians fought in the Trojan War against the Greeks. Centuries later, at the height of their power, they buried their rulers beneath grand stone domes such as the tomb recently discovered at Alexandrovo. After Philip II of Macedon conquered Thrace, its archers and cavalry were conscripted into the army of his son and heir, Alexander the Great. In 73 B.C., one Thracian gained immortality by leading a slave revolt against the Romans—the gladiator known as Spartacus.
Warrior Weaponry
Photograph by Kenneth Garrett
Photographed at National Museum of History, on loan from Museum of History, Lovech
Armed with a spear and bow—classic Thracian weaponry—a warrior gallops across a harness decoration of silver and gold.
Painting a Pitcher
Photograph by Kenneth Garrett
Photographed at Archaeological Museum, Sozopol
An excavation at a seaside cemetery uncovered a Greek-style pitcher with the image of a Thracian warrior.
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