- SOFIA (AP) -- Archeologists
have unearthed a 2,400-year-old golden treasure in an ancient Thracian
tomb in eastern Bulgaria.
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- The gold-rich burial was discovered by a team of archeologists
at excavations about 290 kilometres east of the capital, Sofia.
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- The most impressive finds included a golden ring and
wreath, and many golden and silver pieces of armour and horse trappings.
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- What may have been a Thracian king's body was laid in
a huge wood-panelled pit together with two horses and a dog.
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- The Thracians lived in what is now Bulgaria and parts
of modern Greece, Romania, Macedonia and Turkey.
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- They lived from 4,000 BC to the 8th century AD, when
they were assimilated by the invading Slavs.
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- "Greek pottery that was also found in the tomb helped
us safely date the whole burial to 360-370 BC," Prof. Bozhidar Dimitrov
told the Associated Press in a telephone interview.
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- "This was an extremely rich funeral, suggesting
that the buried man could have been a Thracian king," Mr. Dimitrov
said. "Although he was not buried according to Thracian traditions,
all objects of art bear Thracian imagery."
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- According to a hypothesis, the newly discovered tomb
could have been that of the Thracian governor Seutus, who declared himself
king and used Greek mercenaries to oppress local Thracian tribes. His governance
was described by the ancient Greek chronicler Xenophontes, Mr. Dimitrov
said.
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- "Excavations continue, and new finds literally pop
out every 10 minutes," he said.
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- Last year, another archeological expedition discovered
two vast Thracian tombs in the region near the town of Kazanlak, 200 kilometres
east of Sofia. A 2,400-year old golden mask was then found along with many
golden artifacts.
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