Thracische kunstschatten

SOFIA, Bulgaria - A 2,400-year-old golden mask that once belonged to a Thracianking was unearthed in a timber-lined tomb in southeastern Bulgaria, archaeologists said Monday

The mask, discovered over the weekend, was found in the tomb along with a solidgold ring engraved with a Greek inscription and the portrait of a bearded man. "These finds confirm the assumption that they are part of the lavish burial of aThracian king," said Margarita Tacheva, a professor who was on the dig near thevillage of Topolchane, 180 miles east of the capital, Sofia. Georgi Kitov, the team leader, said that they also found a silver rhyton, silverand bronze vessels, pottery and funerary gifts. "The artifacts belonged to a Thracian ruler from the end of the 4th century B.C.who was buried here," Kitov added.

According to Kitov, the Thracian civilization was at least equal in terms of development to the ancient Greek one. The Thracians lived in what is now Bulgaria and parts of modern Greece, Romania,Macedonia, and Turkey between 4,000 B.C. and the 8th century A.D., when they wereassimilated by the invading Slavs. In 2004, another 2,400-year-old golden mask was unearthed from a Thracian tomb inthe same area. Dozens of Thracian mounds are spread throughout central Bulgaria, which archaeologists have dubbed "the Bulgarian valley of kings" in reference to theValley of the Kings near Luxor, Egypt, home to the tombs of Egyptian Pharaohs.

Bron AP / Associated Press