Europe

[Visited: June 2020]

After visiting the Thracian tombs in the Valley of the Kings near Kazanlak, we are excited to be on the way to yet another Thracian tomb much farther east. The drive is beautiful, through the agricultural lands of northern Bulgaria, and the very last bit is a road lined by tall trees. We park, take our ticket, and wait for the next available guide: there is no spontaneous roaming around these tombs. There are not many visitors in these Covid-19 times, and our wait is not long, and the guide we get assigned speaks proper English. She takes us along a white path lined by lavender. The path is lined by several mounds, all covered in grass - a familiar sight for us. After a few minutes, we arrive at the backside of one of them, where we find a robust metal door in the more than 2300 year old mound.
The guide has to enter a code, and then the doors open. It feels like entering a secure vault full of gold, with a much lower temperature than outside. We have to put protective covers around our shoes, and the lady starts explaining about this tomb. We are the only visitors, and she id adamant that taking pictures is not allowed. It seems impossible even to sneak one in her presence. This is the tomb of Dromichaetes and his wife, a daughter of Lysimachos, the successor of Alexander the Great. Dromichaetes ruled the Getae, a Thracian people, which presently would be both Bulgaria and Romania. Our guide shows various artefacts that were found here, some fine works of gold and other materials. But it is when we turn the corner to see the tomb, that we stand in awe. An entire temple stands in this mound, with arches, and a decorated frieze above the entrance. We find a small room, with polychrome decorations on the walls.
The biggest awe comes when we enter the tomb proper. A spacious room, with a stone coffin on the far wall: it contained the body of King Dromichaetes. Next to him, on the side, a smaller stone coffin with his wife. Above the royal couple, all around the room, ten caryatids sculpted of stone. Made of light, almost white stone, they have their arms raised, seemingly holding a lintel above which is sculpted as if it were a frieze of a Greek temple. They all have distinct features, and have a solemn, one could say mourning, look. Their dresses all have the same curl, giving them a unique feature as far as sculpted women go. Even higher up, frescoes depicting horses and men. We are awestruck, and listen to the guide for whom this is a routine visit. Discovered only in 1982, the tomb was declared a Unesco World Heritage site, and as we can affirm, is being taken care of very well.

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Sveshtari Thracian tomb > Bulgaria > Europe

[Visited: June 2020]

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