By Prof. Ivan Marazov New Bulgarian University "The biggest people after the Indians,” as Herodotus referred to the Thracians, inhabited the enormous territory from the Aegean Sea in the south to the Carpathian Mountains in the north during the antiquity. It is not known with certainty when these tribes came to the Balkans. The most recent and extremely rich finds of magnificent gold jewellery in the tumuli from Dubene (Central Bulgaria), which were excavated by Martin Hristov, are dated to the end of the second millennium BC. Maybe they were left by the first Indo-European settlers in these lands.
In this context, the appearance of the splendid vessels of the Vulchitrun gold treasure six or seven centuries later does not seem unexpected. These finds mark the gold history of the Thracians – a people which had disappeared, but which continues to amaze the world more and more with the wealth of its culture. In the past 50 years, archaeological excavations and accidental finds in Bulgaria made us change radically our notions about the customs, way of life, mythology, architecture and art of the Thracians. Thousands of tumuli conceal under their embankments splendid tombs built of stone or brick, and often decorated with frescoes. A tomb decorated with frescoes made by a local artist during the second half of the 4th century BC was discovered in 2001 near the village of Alexandrovo (Southeastern Bulgaria). The frescoes present the hero’s royal trials: hunting and military heroic deeds. Most tombs in the “Valley of the Thracian Kings” in Central Bulgaria were plundered already back in ancient times, but some of them have nevertheless preserved rich funerary offerings. In the summer of 2003, Georgi Kitov excavated a stone tomb in which he discovered a brilliant gold mask from the second half of the 4th century BC, in addition to weapons, silver, bronze and ceramic vessels. During the next season that archaeologist discovered the tomb of the Odrysian ruler Seuthes III, which is dated to the beginning of the 3rd century BC, unplundered and full of precious vessels, articles of adornment, ornamentation to horse trappings, etc. The images of Medusa and Helios on the marble doors of the tomb show the way to the darkness of the kingdom in the world beyond and the light of eternal life. A bronze head was found in front of the entrance to the tomb, probably a portrait of the king himself, a magnificent work of art of a talented Hellenistic sculptor. One year later, Daniela Agre excavated a big tumulus near Yambol (Southeastern Bulgaria) and found an untouched burial of another Thracian ruler. And there was again a sensation: in addition to the beautiful Greek silver rhytons with scenes on the horn, a silver greave with the mask of a goddess on the knee and mythological scenes around it, made by a local artist, was also found in the grave. Until then we believed that this type of parade protective weaponry was characteristic only of the northern regions of ancient Thrace. Treasures are the second source, after burials, for studying Thracian art. They are deposits of precious objects belonging to the same or similar types that had been buried in the ground outside any archaeological context. The number of treasures increased dramatically in the 4th century BC – a time of flourishing and of tumultuous political events that shook the Thracian kingdoms. When the silver treasure from Rogozen (Northwestern Bulgaria) was discovered in 1986, it became clear that such a wealth (165 silver vessels with gilt weighing 20 kilogrammes!) was hardly buried during a flight from an invading enemy. A new “ritual” hypothesis emerged: the buried treasure marked and guarded the borders of the state territory. This explains why the Thracian word for this ritual deposit has been preserved: pitye, “buried, sunk.” The Thracians remained true to that custom until the end of the Roman period, trying to protect their lands against the barbarians invading from the north." I hope to visit Bulgaria and see these magnificent treasures for myself. More... Less...

Berwick Today: A SILVER coin dating from the 13th century reign of King Henry III is among the medieval finds uncovered by archaeologists in the Walkergate area of Berwick. The short-cross penny, which is still in very good condition having been preserved in the soil for centuries, dates from the 1260s. "This date and the quality of the building's construction suggest that it may relate to the medieval heyday of Berwick," explained Chris Burgess, Northumberland county archaeologist. "It appears to have been slightly disturbed by some of the later pits and robbing, but should be in a comparatively good state of preservation, having been largely protected by the depth of the dark-earths that overly it. "We won't know more until we can expose more of this by removing them." Archaeologists from Tyne and Wear Museums have been working on the former Beehive site for over two months prior to construction work starting on the new £3.3 million business start-up units. Early in the dig they found the foundation walls of three separate buildings, the one nearest the road thought to date back to the Elizabethan period. These three phases of building seem to show how the street has become wider over the years, with a progression from early to late from the front of the site to the back through a series of different buildings gradually moving away from Walkergate. However, the team were always confident the site would throw up some older archaeology given Berwick's rich history and that has turned out to be the case. "As expected, several walls and a possible floor are now visible in the sill-beam trenches," revealed Mr Burgess. "At this stage, it's hard to see exactly what this means. What seems most likely is that we have a building with good quality stone walls and floor extending east to west in the southern part of the site." The team were also recently given the go-ahead to extend the excavation site slightly to the south to match the final building footprint more closely. Mr Burgess said: "We have hired in a JCB to take off the majority of the garden soil and are quickly recording any features that we encounter in this area. "This means that we can make a start on digging the various sill beams and the lift-shaft that go much deeper than the majority of the excavation area. "This is our best chance of investigating the earlier medieval deposits from a time when Berwick was, in theory at least, much more densely populated than it was in the later periods that we have been looking at so far. More... Less...

ForUm:In the center of the Chernihiv city builders have excavated remains of an ancient cemetery dated to the 11-13th centuries. Diggers found 30 tombs of the first Christians – men, women and children. It is only a small part of the big necropolis. Historians say the archeological find proves that Chernihiv was a very powerful city in the times of Kyiv Rus’. In accordance with ancient customs, Christians were buried without decoration. But it was dug out a lot of nails – only what remained from wooden coffins of the 11 century. Anthropologists assert that examination of remains of skeletons, which have been lying underground for nine hundred years, can show diseases then citizens suffered.Technorati tags: cemetary grave burial Christian skeleton Ukraine More... Less...

Maryam Tabeshian:Agricultural activities by local farmers near the world heritage site of Pasargadae last year resulted in the accidental discovery of a big stone slab bearing some carvings typical of Pasargadae monuments. The discovered slab was recently proved by archeologists to have been the entrance gate to the mausoleum of Cambyses II, son and successor of Cyrus the Great, founder of the Achameneid Empire (550-330 BC). "A huge stone slab measuring 1.60 meters in height comprised of 5 broken pieces was discovered last March by farmers at a distance of 100 meters from Tall-e Takht and was immediately transferred to Parse-Pasargadae Research Center to be studied by archeologists," said Afshin Yazdani, archeologist of Parse-Pasargadae Research Center. Tall-e Takht or 'throne hill' is a citadel located at the heart of Pasargadae historical complex, the first dynastic capital of the Achaemenid Empire, founded by Cyrus the Great, in Fars province. Remains of an unfinished tomb denoted to Achaemenid King Cambyses II can be seen close to Tall-e Takht, from which only a wall has survived the ravage of time. Based on studies by British archeologist David Stronach, the Tomb, also known as Zendan-e Soleiman/Eskandar (Solomon/Alexander Prison), originally consisted of an almost square, 4-meter-high tower in which a solitary, raised room was approached by a projecting monumental stone staircase. It resembles the Achaemenid era monument of Zoroaster's Kaba in Naqsh-e Rostam historical site According to Yazdani, the stones used in the gate of Cambyses' tomb are very similar to a stone slab discovered 50 years ago by archeologists. At the time, Stronach proposed a theory that the stone belonged to the mausoleum of Cambyses and drew a sketch of the original gate which he believed to have had two leaves, each comprising of 6 rectangular frames. He also drew 3 flowers each having 12 petals on the top and bottom of each frame.Technorati tags: tomb Cambyses Cyrus Persia ancient tomb mausoleum More... Less...

Bone fragment likely not Joan of Arc - Yahoo! News:A rib bone and a piece of cloth supposedly recovered after Joan of Arc was burned at the stake are probably not hers, according to experts trying to unravel one of the mysteries surrounding the 15th century French heroine. Eighteen experts began a series of tests six months ago on the fragments reportedly recovered from the pyre where the 19-year-old was burned for heresy. Although the tests have not been completed, findings so far indicate there is "relatively little chance" that the remnants are hers, Philippe Charlier, the head of the team, told The Associated Press on Saturday. The fragment of linen from the 15th century "wasn't burned. It was dyed," Charlier said. And a blackened substance around the 6-inch rib bone was not "carbonized remains" but vegetable and mineral debris, "something that rather resembles embalming substance," he said. Joan of Arc was burned to death on May 30, 1431 in the Normandy town of Rouen following a trial. Legend has it that her ashes were scattered in the Seine River. The rib bone and piece of cloth were supposedly recovered from the pyre by an unidentified person and conserved by an apothecary until 1867, before being turned over to the archdiocese of Tours. They are now stored at a museum in Chinon, about 150 miles southwest of Paris. In 1909, scientists declared it "highly probable" that the remains were those of Joan of Arc. Given developments in genetic technology in recent years, researchers decided to test the remains again to try to determine if they were definitely hers. But the probability that the remains are those of Joan of Arc are "enormously lessening," Charlier said. "We're instead moving toward the hypotheses of a fake relic or of a relic that was transformed."Technorati tags: "Joan ar Arc" martyr heroine saint soldier miracle More... Less...