Thracian Tomb of Sveshtari in Bulgaria

Thracian Tomb of Sveshtari - Bulgaria

Short Report

Discovered in 1982 near the village of Sveshtari, this 3th-century Bc Thracian tomb reflects the structural principles of Thracian cult buildings. The grave is a unique architectural design with polychrome half-man, half-plant caryatids and murals. The 10 female figures carved in high relief on the walls of the main room and the decoration of its lunette in its archive are the only examples of this type of until now found in the Thracian lands. It is a remarkable overview of the culture of the Getes, a Thracian people who were in contact with the Hellenistic and Hyperborean worlds, to the old geographers.

Wonderful Universal Importance

The Thracian tomb near Sveshtari is a very rare and very well preserved monument of the sepulchral architecture with remarkable elements in terms of their quality and style sculpture and painting. The Graf is also remarkable for the fact that the local art, inspired by Hellenism, a rare case of an interrupted creative process which has specific characteristics.

The Thracian tomb near Sveshtari is a unique artistic achievement with its half man, half plant caryatids embedded in a chiton in the form of an upside down palmette. The fact that the original polychromy preserved with its ochre, brown, blue, red and purple tones adds to the charm of an expressive composition where the percentile anthropomorphic dummy supports conjure the image of a choir of mourners frozen in the abstract views of a ritual dance. The tomb is exceptional testimony of the culture of the Getes, Thracian peoples in the north of Hemus (contemporary Stara Planina), in contact with the Greek and Hyperborean worlds according to the old geographers. The Graf is also remarkable for the fact that the local art inspired by Hellenism, a rare case of an interrupted creative process, which has specific characteristics. This monument is unique in its architectural design and in the specific nature of the funeral rites revealed by the excavation.

Integrity

The integrity of the site, in accordance with the same character, and the surrounding area. The monument is located in the archaeological reserve 'Sborianovo', where more than 40 sepulchral Thracian burial mounds, various sanctuaries, antique and medieval villages, buildings, a fort, mausoleum and a minaret from the Ottoman period. The property includes within its boundaries all components necessary for its exceptional Universal Value.

Authenticity

The house feels, is kept in the original location by a moisture-isolating switch protective cover when the external sepulchral mound was reinstated. Please find enclosed the dike also appears as a unique element in the landscape. The general condition of the original stone figures and illustrations elements of the construction is good and the spatial organization of the Tombs is unchanged. The preservation is performed with minimal interference and discreet. The Grave is open for visitors, while complying with the technical requirements for conservation.

Wide Report

The discovery in 1982 of the Thracian tomb of Sveshtari was one of the most spectacular archaeological events of the 20th century. The tomb itself is a unique artistic achievement with its half-man, half-plant caryatids enclosed by chitons in the form of reverse palmettes. The fact that the original polychromy preserved with its ochre, brown, blue, red and purple tones adds to the charm of an expressive composition where the percentile anthropomorphic dummy supports conjure the image of a choir of mourners frozen in the abstract views of a ritual dance. The graf is an extraordinary testimony to the culture of the Getae, a Thracian people living in the north of Hemus, in contact with the Greek and Hyperborean worlds according to ancient geographers.

The tomb is located in a region declared an archaeological reserve, near the city of Malak Porovetz Razgra between the villages and Sveshtari Isperih in municipalities, in the river Krapinetz canyon and on the hills around. The time at which the Sveshtari tomb was built (MID 3RD century Bc) coincided with a period of great political, economic and cultural revival of the Thracian tribe of the Getae. The rich decoration and perfect architecture of the tomb shows the power of the ruler. Under a tumulus 11.5 m high and 70 m in diameter, geophysical prospecting, appeared in the south-east, the monumental entrance to the hypogeum of exceptional importance, including a dromos, a porch, and two rectangular burial chambers. The classification of the Thracian king's tomb, which is very different from that of Thracian tomb with domes such as that of Kazanlak, fits a Hellenistic model to be found in Macedonia, Small-asia and Egypt. However, the tomb of Sveshtari is unique in its architectural decor and in the specific nature of funeral rites revealed by the excavation.

The tomb consists of a corridor (dromos) and three square rooms: waiting room, lateral room, and the main burial chamber under a semi-cylindrical vault. The plan of the building offers a new interesting example in Thracian building practice. The interior of the grave is carried out in the spirit of the contemporary Hellenistic architecture. The entrance is flanked by two rectangular columns (antae).  There is a an architrave plate above them with a frisian in relief, consisting of imitation bovine heads (bucrania), rosettes and garlands. Ten beautiful female figures with hands raised high as caryatids are impressive. The figures are approximately 1.20 m high plant, front presented, wearing long sleeveless dresses (chitons) connected with a thin strap under the breasts.

Two funerary beds, human bones and serious solutions were discovered in the central room. Of the scattered stone details it was possible for the reconstruction of the facade of the tomb (aedicula), consisting of pilasters, cornice and a pediment and closed with three stone doors. The hotel is located opposite the large bed and a symbol of the border between life and death, the aedicula isolated the grave of the deified ruler (the most sacred part of the grave) of the rest of the city. In the middle of the composition the goddess is with a golden halo on the ruler, portrayed as a rider opposite her. On both sides of them there were processions of servants and armour-carriers in different gifts in their hands.

The layout of the central room which consists two stone funeral beds and a aedicula mimics the framework of the peristyle house: five half columns and ornaments ten female caryatids in high relief on limestone or flagstones support the an architrave barrel-vaulted Doric frieze with the triglyphs and metopes are decorated in the room at half height. In the north-west its lunette, on the wall opposite the entrance, there is a painting of the deceased as hero, who, in the presence of different actors, develops on a horse to the central figure of a deity extending a wreath. Skeletal material found during excavation testifies to the horse sacrifices which is accompanied by the funerary rites.

Source:whc/unesco