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Archaeologists working in southern Bulgaria discovered three burial sites, two featuring ancient warriors.
The burial mounds, from the second century B.C., included human remains alongside dead warhorses, as was the tradition of the time.
Grave goods from the ancient Thracian burial featured spears, shields, and gold-covered swords and hilts.
Tombs discovered in what was once the ancient region of Thrace, now southern Bulgaria, held the remains of both people and horses, in addition to a swath of grave goods that included gold-covered sword hilts.
The find came during work related to the installation of electric cable in Kapitan Petko Voyvoda near the Turkish border, according to a translated statement. The team of Daniela Agre, Deyan Dichev, and Vladimir Staykov of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences located two burial mounds, one featuring a ruling warrior and the second a noblewoman. Following the initial discovery, they continued to search and discovered a second warrior in a third tomb about 200 feet from the first. All were dated to the late Hellenistic period of ancient Thrace in the second century B.C.
Alongside the cremated remains of the first warrior and warhorse, the excavation turned up spears, shields, swords featuring gold-covered hilts and inlays of semi-precious stones, jewelry, and a ceremonial dagger adorned with gold and gems. The team also found gold, silver, and bronze adornments for the horse.
“The quality of the metals and the meticulous engravings suggest we are looking at a goldsmithing workshop linked to Thracian royal courts or even itinerant Hellenistic masters,” Agre said during a National Archaeological Institute of Bulgaria press conference, according to La Brujula Verde.
The remains of the second warrior, discovered in a nine-foot by nine-foot tomb at a depth of three feet, were those of what experts determined was a 35-to-40-year-old male, still with a silver wreath around his head.
That warrior and his horse were buried with a bridle adorned with a rendering of Hercules defeating the giant Antaeus and a harness with gilded bronze fittings. “The level of detail is astonishing: the tense muscles, the expression of agony on Antaeus’ face,” Dichev said. “This is not local craftsmanship; it’s a piece imported from a first-rate workshop, probably in Pergamon or Alexandria.”
Also inside the tomb were iron spears, a crooked ancient Greek Mahira knife, an iron shield, and silver jewelry.
Warrior burials weren’t the only striking discoveries. The second tomb contained the remains of a noblewoman, as indicated by two pairs of well-preserved leather shoes, a wooden chest emblazoned with gold and silver plating decorated with semi-precious stones, and a mixture of bronze, glass, and amber items.
Nearby, a ritual offering site featured coins with a diversity of minting locations and a range of monarchs depicted on the faces, which Agre believes shows the site was either a pilgrimage destination or a commercial trading hub.
The experts said the site’s multiple tombs filled with valuable grave goods showed it was a high-status burial complex, which could upend what was previously known about the political and ruling structure of pre-Roman Thrace.
The finds are set to go on display at the National Archaeological Museum in Sofia.
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