Thracian Tomb of Kazanlak

UNESCO World Heritage Site

Thracian Tomb of Kazanlak
Name as inscribed on the World Heritage List
Type	Cultural
Criteria	i, iii, iv
Reference	44
UNESCO region	Europe
Coordinates
Inscription history
Inscription	1979 (3rd Session)

The Thracian Tomb of Kazanlak (Bulgarian: Казанлъшка гробница, Kazanlŭshka grobnitsa) is a vaulted-brickwork "beehive" (tholos) tomb near the town of Kazanlak in central Bulgaria.

The tomb is part of a large Thracian necropolis. It comprises a narrow corridor and a round burial chamber, both decorated with murals representing a Thracian couple at a ritual funeral feast. The monument dates back to the 4th century BCE and has been on the UNESCO protected World Heritage Site list since 1979. The murals are memorable for the splendid horses and for a gesture of farewell, in which the seated couple grasp each other's wrists in a moment of tenderness and equality (according to Lyudmila Zhivkova—a view that is not shared by all specialists). The paintings are Bulgaria's best-preserved artistic masterpieces from the Hellenistic period.

The tomb is situated near the ancient Thracian capital of Seuthopolis in a region where more than a thousand tombs of kings and members of the Thracian aristocracy can be found.

The seated woman of the murals is depicted on the reverse of the Bulgarian 50 stotinki coin issued in 2005.

Gallery

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  A scene depicting the farewell of the groom and bride.

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  Thracian king and queen — reproduction of tomb.

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  Chariot race — reproduction of tomb.

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See also

• Thracian tomb Golyama Arsenalka
• Thracian tomb Shushmanets
• Thracian tomb Griffins
• Thracian tomb Helvetia
• Tomb of Seuthes III
• Thracian tomb Ostrusha

External links

• „The Thracian Tomb in Kazanluk“, book by Dafina Vasileva.
• Images of the Thracian Tomb of Kazanlak.