The Thracians ( bg, Траки, grc, Θρᾷκες, la, Thraci) were a group of
Indo-European tribes inhabiting a large area in Central and Southeastern Europe, centred in modern
Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Maced ...
.
They were bordered by the
Scythians to the north, the
Celts
The Celts (, see pronunciation for different usages) or Celtic peoples () are. "CELTS location: Greater Europe time period: Second millennium B.C.E. to present ancestry: Celtic a collection of Indo-European peoples. "The Celts, an ancient ...
and the
Illyrians
The Illyrians ( grc, Ἰλλυριοί, ''Illyrioi''; la, Illyrii) were a group of Indo-European-speaking peoples who inhabited the western Balkan Peninsula in ancient times. They constituted one of the three main Paleo-Balkan populations, al ...
to the west, the
Greeks to the south, and the
Black Sea to the east.
The
Thracians were skillful craftsmen. They made beautifully ornate golden and silver objects such as various kinds of vessels,
rhytons, facial masks, pectorals, jewelry, weapons, etc. These show strong, and increasing, influence from the neighbouring cultures, especially the Greeks. They used to bury rich hoards of precious objects both to hide them in times of enemy invasions and unrest as well as for ritual purposes. To date, more than 80 Thracian treasures have been excavated in
Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Maced ...
, the cradle of the Thracian civilization. Refer to the map which explicitly shows the territory of present-day Bulgaria.
Thracian treasure hoards
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Borovo Treasure
The Borovo Treasure, also known as the Borovo Silver Treasure, is a Thracian hoard of five matching silver-gilt items discovered in late 1974 while ploughing a field in Borovo, Bulgaria.
The treasure is kept in the history museum at Ruse.
Item ...
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Lukovit Treasure
The Lukovit Treasure ( bg, Луковитско съкровище) is a silver Thracian treasure.
Discovery
It was found in 1953 near the town of Lukovit, Lovech Province, north-western Bulgaria.
Description
It consists of two groups ...
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Panagyurishte Treasure
The Panagyurishte Treasure ( bg, Панагюрско златно съкровище) is a Thracian treasure.
Discovery
It was accidentally discovered on 8 December 1949 by three brothers, Pavel, Petko, and Michail Deikov, who worked together ...
*
Rogozen Treasure
*
Valchitran Treasure
The Valchitran Treasure ( bg, Вълчитрънско златно съкровище) is an early Thracian treasure.
Discovery
It was discovered on 28 December 1924 by two brothers who were working in their vineyard near the village of Valc ...
Thracian treasures
See also
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Dacian art
Dacian art is the art associated with the peoples known as Dacians or North Thracians; The Dacians created an art style in which the influences of Scythians and the Greeks can be seen. They were highly skilled in gold and silver working and in pott ...
*
Scythian art
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Thraco-Cimmerian
Thraco-Cimmerian is a historiographical and archaeological term, composed of the names of the Thracians and the Cimmerians. It refers to 8th to 7th century BC cultures that are linked in Eastern Central Europe and in the area west of the Black Se ...
*
Treasure of Nagyszentmiklós
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Zoomorphic style
Animal style art is an approach to decoration found from China to Northern Europe in the early Iron Age, and the barbarian art of the Migration Period, characterized by its emphasis on animal motifs. The zoomorphic style of decoration was us ...
References
Further reading
* ''The Yurta-Stroyno Archaeological Project. Studies on the Roman Rural Settlement in Thrace''. P. Tušlová – B. Weissová – S. Bakardzhiev (eds.). Prague: Charles University, Faculty of Arts, 2022. ISBN 978-80-7671-068‑9 (print),
ISBN 978-80-7671-069-6 (online: pdf)
*
External links
Panagyurishte TreasureThe Treasures of the Ancient Thracians
*http://www7.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0612/feature4/
*http://www.archaeology.org/0503/abstracts/kitov.html
*http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3999145.stm
*http://www.turkishdailynews.com.tr/article.php?enewsid=53342
Golden Thracian Mask, 5th century B.C.
{{Western art movements
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Treasure
Treasure troves of classical antiquity