Bulgaria Travel Forum

Hello,
Anybody knows if there is a website (a kind of official website) related to the Thracian Tombs? There is not a lot of information on VT and some tips are contradictory between them. I saw an exhibition about Thracians in Barcelona three years ago and I was very impressed by their cultural and artistic achievement and especially by those tombs, I would like to visit some of those tombs.
Many thanks,
elisa

There is very little on the internet as I found when I was researching for my own trip to Bulgaria last year.

These are some of the sites I found:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thracian_Tomb_of_Kazanlak
http://www.motoroads.com/bulgaria-thracian-tombs-vacations.html
http://english.pravda.ru/news/society/07-08-2008/106022-chariot-0

There are others if you google it.

I visited the one in Kazanluk. The real tomb within the city is closed and protected but an exact replica has been built next to it that one may visit.
The details and a photo are on my Kazanluk page.

Thanks for your quick response
And I can read good recent news for Archaeology lovers! :-) :-) :-)
Elisa

Thanks for your quick response
And I can read good recent news for Archaeology lovers! :-) :-) :-)
Elisa

There are also a couple of other recently unearthed tombs sites, such as the Tomb of Starosel, the Tomb of Sveshtari and the shrine of Perperikon. There is a short description of those in these websites:

http://www.bgtourinfo.eu/engtrakite.html

http://www.perperikon.bg/

Unfortunately, there is very little published on the Internet about the sites themselves: ways to reach them, how to visit them and so on. I have not visited any of those, but what the overall impression that I have is that the Kazanlak tomb replica is a tourist attraction and Perperikon is slowly becoming one, despite the lack of proper infrastructure. The other Thracian sites still seem to be the workplaces of archaeologists.

Most of the Thracian artifacts that have been found are on show in the National Museum of History in Sofia, as well as in some regional museums around the country. As far as I remember replicas of the major gold- and silverware are also exhibited in the museum in Sofia.

This said, I still advise you to consider a trip to Bulgaria, although it will certainly not be "a journey to the land of the Thracians" only. There is plenty to see in the country: quaint villages and small towns, picturesque monasteries and beautiful nature.

Definitely worth visiting. Try to get out to see the tumulus of King Seuthes the Third too and the Iskra Historical Museum (history section downstairs)is worth a visit as well.

Yes, that replica built next to the original tomb sounds very touristy :-(
Ahaha, I never thought about "a journey to the land of Thracians", even if ancient civilizations fascinate me a lot I have more interests. And there are also the mountains :-) :-) :-)

It is there for educational purposes. I saw school groups visiting. I think that they did the right thing in protecting the original.

It is not touristy in the sense of being built up with souvenir shops food kiosks and such. It is alone in a lovely park setting. If you want to see other tombs you will have to have a car.

For your perusal:

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/44

http://www.ancient-bulgaria.com/2006/08/25/the-thracian-tomb-of-kazanlak-introduction/

http://www.digsys.bg/books/cultural_heritage/thracian/thracian-intro.html

http://worldheritagesite.org/sites/kazanlak.html

Well I cannot speak with full knowledge of the facts as I don't know the state of conservation of the tombs and the general conditions (humidity, temperature, pollution . . .) of the area but in other places like for example in the underground Half Saflieni Hypogeum in Malta (2.500 bc, a masterwork of prehistoric times!) they resolved the question allowing the entrance of only 10 people per hour in guided (and very controlled) tours. No need to tell that you have to book some months in advance!

Thanks for the links
elisa

"Diffr'nt strokes for diffr'nt people" :)