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 Macedo ...

. They were bordered by the

Scythians The Scythians or Scyths, and sometimes also referred to as the Classical Scythians and the Pontic Scythians, were an ancient Eastern * : "In modern scholarship the name 'Sakas' is reserved for the ancient tribes of northern and eastern Centra ...

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 ancien ...

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, a ...

to the west, the

Greeks The Greeks or Hellenes (; el, Έλληνες, ''Éllines'' ) are an ethnic group and nation indigenous to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea regions, namely Greece, Cyprus, Albania, Italy, Turkey, Egypt, and, to a lesser extent, oth ...

to the south, and the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Rom ...

to the east. The

Thracians The Thracians (; grc, Θρᾷκες ''Thrāikes''; la, Thraci) were an Indo-European speaking people who inhabited large parts of Eastern and Southeastern Europe in ancient history.. "The Thracians were an Indo-European people who occupied t ...

were skillful craftsmen. They made beautifully ornate golden and silver objects such as various kinds of vessels,

rhyton A rhyton (plural rhytons or, following the Greek plural, rhyta) is a roughly conical container from which fluids were intended to be drunk or to be poured in some ceremony such as libation, or merely at table. A rhyton is typically formed in t ...

s, 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

, the cradle of the Thracian civilization. Refer to the map which explicitly shows the territory of present-day Bulgaria.

Thracian treasure hoards

* Borovo Treasure *

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 ...

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 togethe ...

* 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 Val ...

Thracian treasures

References

External links

Panagyurishte Treasure

The 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 *

Treasure Treasure (from la, thesaurus from Greek language ''thēsauros'', "treasure store") is a concentration of wealth — often originating from ancient history — that is considered lost and/or forgotten until rediscovered. Some jurisdictions le ...

Treasure troves of classical antiquity

Thracian treasure hoards

Thracian treasures

See also

References

Further reading

External links