20 years ago, archaeologist Georgi Kitov discovered the tomb of King Seuthes III

June 11, 2007 - US President George W. Bush Jr. visits Sofia. According to protocol, the press conference he held for the media took place among the exhibits of the National Archaeological Museum. The official lunch for the guest was later held at the National History Museum (NHM) in Boyana. Before the official part, President Bush was given a tour of the exhibition, accompanied by the then director of the NHM, Bozhidar Dimitrov. He was particularly impressed by the Thracian treasures.

The guest asked a question: how many Thracian mounds were there in Bulgaria? At least 15 000, he was told. How many have you explored? asked Bush. About 1,000, Bozidar Dimitrov replied sheepishly. With his Texan pragmatism, President Bush urged: "Well, dig those mounds then, dig them!"

I always remember this story, told to me by the late Professor Dimitrov, when it comes to the archaeologist Dr Georgi Kitov and the illegal treasure hunters who have been digging and plundering the same Thracian mounds for centuries.

Today, for a number of reasons, there is no Bulgarian archaeologist who studies and preserves the Thracian heritage in the Bulgarian lands at the pace of the TEMS expedition - "Thracian Expedition for Mound Studies", led by Georgi Kitov, year after year. With the speed of his research, the archaeologist has often managed to get ahead of the treasure hunters.

The most successful season for Georgi Kitov, the one that forever etched his name in the history of Bulgarian and world archaeology, was 2004. In the summer of that year, Dr Kitov's expedition explored the Svetitsata ("Saint") mound in the Valley of the Thracian Kings, between the towns of Shipka, Kazanlak and Krun. Under the mound they found a walled tomb. Inside was a skeleton with a 24-carat gold mask on its face, weighing over 620 grams. Apparently the purpose of the mask was for the ruler to be recognised and welcomed into the afterlife. He was also sent into eternity with a golden signet ring depicting a naked athlete. Later it was suggested that this was the royal tomb of the fifth-century BC Odryan king Teres I. The entire royal armoury, armour, quiver of arrows, two swords, spearheads, pottery and metal vessels, cups, including a silver one, were also found well preserved in the tomb.

In the autumn of 2004, the TEMP expedition began to explore a new site nearby. Because the hill was overgrown with trees, it was called Golyamata Kosmatka (The Big Hairy Hill).

"The date was 21 September 2004," writes Dr Kitov in his book "Mounds, Temples, Tombs - Notes of a Mound Digger". One of the large stones in the structure of the mound does not move. Gradually, the brush reveals the shape of a male bronze head, almost life-size. Expressively rendered, the man's beard, moustache and hair are sculpted in relief, appearing textured yet styled. His aquiline nose and especially his eyes evoke awe and admiration. The sculptor has even added a mole and a scar on his left cheek. The pupils are made of glass paste and ground alabaster, while the eyelashes and eyebrows are accentuated with thin strips of copper, giving the face a strikingly realistic appearance".

New book, dedicated to ancient Thracians’ treasures

The opening of the tomb on 4 October was recorded on video. Under the light of an electric torch, Kitov was the first person to enter the burial chamber in 23 centuries.

The tomb itself was built two centuries before the symbolic burial of King Seuthes III. There are theories that prior to it the structure was originally used as a temple. A 13 metre long dromos (corridor) with a beamed ceiling leads further inside. One then goes through the first stone door, which leads into a rectangular chamber. A horse skeleton on the stone slabs on the floor tells of a sacrifice. Another stone door with two wings leads into the next circular room. The wings are decorated with raised protective medallions depicting the Gorgon Medusa and Helios. The highest point in the vault of the massive dome in the circular room is 4.5 metres high. Three teeth of a 12-year-old child and a branch of a golden wreath were found on the floor.

The third rectangular room is the so-called burial chamber. It is carved out of a monolithic block of granite weighing over 60 tonnes. A lodge for the deceased is carved into the stone. The most valuable artefacts were found here: a golden burial wreath with oak leaves and acorns, a golden kylix for drinking wine, a silver phiale, a golden horse harness, a bronze helmet and kneecaps with gilded female faces, clothes and a leather garment decorated with a golden application of a raging lion's head and plant motifs, a sword and a knife with a gilded handle.

The inscription on the helmet indicates that it belonged to Seuthes. The king's name is also inscribed on two vessels of precious metal. Among the gifts for the afterlife is a gold-woven carpet. There are no human remains in the tomb, suggesting that the ruler died and was buried elsewhere. Most puzzling to archaeologists was a guilded silver box in the shape of a shell, used to store women's cosmetics. It is unlikely that the shell was the most important item in the burial of a warrior king, even if it was a symbolic one. It was probably left there as a final gift from Berenice, the loving second wife of King Seuthes III.

After being cleaned and restored, the head of Seuthes III was displayed at the Louvre in 2015 in the exhibition Epic of the Thracian Kings. Archaeological Discoveries in Bulgaria. At the end of 2024, it will be on display in the exhibition Ancient Thrace and the Classical World: Treasures from Bulgaria, Romania and Greece at the Getty Museum in Los Angeles, USA, together with the complete set of finds from the tomb of the Thracian king.

There are about 1500 Thracian mounds in the Kazanlak region alone. That is why the Kazanlak plain is called the Valley of the Thracian Kings. To date, about 200 mounds and 15 tombs have been excavated in the area. The rest are waiting for a new explorer. The great archaeologist Georgi Kitov died suddenly of a heart attack on 14 September 2008 during another excavation near Starosel.

Photos: Kazanlak Municipality, bulgariatravel.org, kazanlakmuseum.com, BGNES, BTA, Ivo Ivanov

Translated and posted in English by E. Radkova