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The Aleksandrovo tomb is a Thracian burial mound and tomb excavated near Aleksandrovo, Haskovo Province, South-Eastern Bulgaria, dated to c. 4th century BCE.
On December 17, 2000 the tomb was accidentally uncovered by an earth-moving machine.Webber, Christopher
"The Alexandrovo Tomb and other Recent Discoveries"
Slingshot 216, July 2001, pp 47-50 Looters subsequently entered the tomb, damaging some of its frescoes. In 2001 Bulgarian archaeologist Georgi Kitov led a rescue excavation of the tomb, discovering a round chamber of about in diameter, accessible through a small antechamber and a tunnel, approximately long. Both the antechamber and main chamber are decorated with well-preserved
"The tholos tomb at Alexandrovo: Thracian funerary paintings in a broader context"
, 2005 The fresco in the main chamber depicts a hunting scene where a boar is attacked by a mounted hunter and a naked man wielding a
File:Alexandrovo Burial mound.JPG, Alexandrovo Burial mound
File:Museum Center Thracian Art in the Eastern Rhodopes 2011 PD 07.JPG
File:Museum Center Thracian Art in the Eastern Rhodopes 2011 PD 12.JPG
Image:Aleksandrovo grobniza.jpg
Image:Aleksandrovska grobniza.JPG
File:Zalmoxis Aleksandrovo.jpg
The Aleksandrovo tomb is a Thracian burial mound and tomb excavated near Aleksandrovo, Haskovo Province, South-Eastern Bulgaria, dated to c. 4th century BCE.
On December 17, 2000 the tomb was accidentally uncovered by an earth-moving machine.Webber, Christopher"The Alexandrovo Tomb and other Recent Discoveries"
Slingshot 216, July 2001, pp 47-50 Looters subsequently entered the tomb, damaging some of its frescoes. In 2001 Bulgarian archaeologist Georgi Kitov led a rescue excavation of the tomb, discovering a round chamber of about in diameter, accessible through a small antechamber and a tunnel, approximately long. Both the antechamber and main chamber are decorated with well-preserved
fresco
Fresco (plural ''frescos'' or ''frescoes'') is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaste ...
es that reflect the artist's knowledge of Late Classical and Early Hellenistic art.Theodossiev, Nikola"The tholos tomb at Alexandrovo: Thracian funerary paintings in a broader context"
, 2005 The fresco in the main chamber depicts a hunting scene where a boar is attacked by a mounted hunter and a naked man wielding a
double-axe
''Labrys'' ( gr, , lábrus) is, according to Plutarch (''Quaestiones Graecae'' 2.302a), the Lydian word for the double-bitted axe. In Greek it was called (''pélekus''). The Ancient Greek plural of ''labrys'' is ''labryes'' ().
Etymology
P ...
. The double-axe is interpreted as representing royal power, the naked man as representing Zalmoxis
Zalmoxis ( grc-gre, Ζάλμοξις) also known as Salmoxis (Σάλμοξις), Zalmoxes (Ζάλμοξες), Zamolxis (Ζάμολξις), Samolxis (Σάμολξις), Zamolxes (Ζάμολξες), or Zamolxe (Ζάμολξε) is a divinity of the ...
, the Thracian solar god corresponding to Zeus.
A graffito in the chamber inscribed with the Thracian name ''Kozemases'' indicates either the tomb's noble patron or its artist.
The Thracian tomb of Alexandrovo is dated at early 4th century BC.The Thracians 700 BC-AD 46 (Men-at-Arms) by Christopher Webber and Angus McBride, 2001, , page 19 Wall paintings exhibit the change in appearance due to Greek influence. In the wall-paintings beards, tattoos, cloaks, boots, hats, top-knots have disappeared. Greek footwear replaces their boots. The tomb may be that of Triballi.The Cambridge Ancient History, Volume 6: The Fourth Century BC (Hardcover)
by D. M. Lewis, , 1994, page 463
Also other changes are seen such as Thracians wearing gold or bronze torcs around their necks (usually three).
Gallery
See also
* Thracian tomb of Cotys I * Thracian tomb Golyama Arsenalka * Thracian tomb Griffins * Thracian tomb Helvetia * Thracian Tomb of Kazanlak * Thracian tomb Ostrusha * Thracian tomb of Seuthes III *Thracian tomb Shushmanets
The Thracian tomb at Shushmanets is a mound located in the Valley of the Thracian Rulers. It was built as a temple in the 4th century BC and later used as a tomb.
Architecture
The temple has a long and wide entry corridor and an antechamber, ...
* Thracian Tomb of Sveshtari
* Valley of the Thracian Rulers
*Roman Tomb (Silistra)
The Roman Tomb of Silistra ( bg, Римска гробница в Силистра, ''Rimska grobnitsa v Silistra'') is an Ancient Roman burial tomb in the town of Silistra in northeastern Bulgaria. Dating to the mid-4th century AD, the Roman To ...
Tombs in Bulgaria
Thracian sites
Notes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aleksandrovo Kurgan Buildings and structures completed in the 4th century BC Thracian sites Archaeological sites in Bulgaria Kurgans 2001 in Bulgaria 2001 in science Buildings and structures in Haskovo Province Tombs in Bulgaria History of Haskovo Province 2000 archaeological discoveries