A műemlékek sokszínűsége (A 28. Egri Nyári Egyetem előadásai 1998 Eger, 1998)

Előadások / Presentations - Svetla KOINOVA METCHKUEVA: Two thracian tombs in Bulgaria entered in the world heritage list

In order to substantiate my statements so far, I wish to make a very brief overview of tow tombs which are outside the subject of this paper. The tomb near Muglish dates from the 4th-3rd century BC when the Hellenistic tendencies penetrated into inner Thrace. The tomb is built of bricks, and has a beehive-shaped cupola. It is adorned with harmonious intermittent palmets and beautifully designed Greek amphorae decorated with Greek mythological scenes - an interesting artistic solution which has no parallel in the Hellenistic world. The figure of Nike on a chariot is best preserved. This is another tomb which was recently discovered under a tumulus. It is still argued whether it is a burial or a cult shrine, because the excavations uncovered a huge composition situated around a monumental architecrual centre: an enormous carved-out monolith which is topped by a monolithic stone block. This composition was undoubtedly designed for the performance of specific religious rites of unknown nature. The architectural form of this composition has so far no known analogy with any monuments either within the territory of Thrace or outside it. The decoration of the plated ceiling of the main premise is not typical, and raises a number of questions concerning the correct dating of the tomb. As far as the Thracian tomb near Kazanluk and the tomb near Svehtari are concerned, we intend to pay due attention to the influence that these unique monuments had experienced as a result of religious beliefs, of social structures, of the personal preferences of a ruler, and last but not least, of the skills and creative potential of ancient Thracians. THE THRACIAN TOMB NEAR KAZANLUK The Thracian tomb near Kazanluk is classified as a vaulted tomb; sepulchres of this type are found is Thrace, Minor Asia and Southern Russia. The tomb was discovered by chance in 1944, when digging for an anti-aircraft shelter. It is situated in the southern part of the tumulus. It lies on the same plane as the surrounding terrain, and is north-south oriented. The entire body of the tomb is covered with a stone jacket of roughly newn stone slabs glued together. A narrow brick corridor - the dromos - leads to the burial chamber through a rectangular door. The pseudovault of the droms is built of protruding rectangular bricks, with their lower edges cut off. The vault of the central burial chamber is formed in the same way but using trapezium-shaped bricks. The central burial chamber resembles a beehive-shaped vault with 3,25 m high, 2,65 m diameter at the base and 0,47 m diameter at the intersected top; the top is covered with a quadrangular key stone. The human bones and the decayed remains of wood and metal nails which were found in the tomb show that the deceased were placed in a wooden sarcophagus, or in funerary beds, without being cremated. The anthropological study of the bones shows that one of the skeletons was female. The presence of a metal door between the dromos and the vault premise suggests that the tomb may have been used for repeated burials. An insignificant number of small object was found in the burial chamber which proves that it had been plundered in ancient times. A small ceramic dry-guilt rosette and gold „buttons" were also found, which had obviously decorated the Thracian woman's diadem and some piece of cloth. A vessel (oinochoe) was found as well, similar to the one which is held by the cup-bearer depicted in the murals. The world celebrity of the Thracian tomb near Kazanluk is due to the murals covering the antechamber, the dromos and the central vault chamber where the most important scene is portrayed.