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A 680g golden mask and a 20g golden ring depicting a rower were amongst
the items discovered in August 2004 in a grave in the mound "Sveticata"
near the town
of Kazanluk by TEMP 2004, the archaeological
team of Dr. Georgi Kitov.
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" . . . The first close-up of the entire grave complex in the laboratories of the National Archaeological Museum of Sofia reveals clearly that the burial belongs to a eminent and rich Thracian equestrian warrior. The massive gold mask is no doubt a sepulchral object, the strongest argument are the closed eyelids. The Greek red-figured pelike is coming from an artistic worskhop in Attica strictly dated to the period 430-420 BC. There are many interesting finds and weapons (bronze breast cuirass, iron chain mail, iron sword (akinakes?), spearheads, etc.) within, including 2 'fat' Greek stamped amphorae, probably originating from Mende, in North Macedonia. All exisitng for the moment reasons show that this new 'Odryssian guy' had possibly taken part in the king Sitalkes' march into Macedonia and Northern Greece in 432-429 BC. Thus, any attempt for a historical 'royal' identification of the burial is quite uncertain (despite the clear portrait features of the mask!).All objects are said to be on display sometime in October at the Sofia Museum after due restoration."
Evgeni Paunov, PhD-student at Cardiff Univerisity, U.K., in a letter to the Thracian list
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| The grave of the ruler | The golden ring with a rower |
Bronze armour