BEHIND THE GOLDEN MASK

Seuthopolis and the Valley of the Thracian Kings

The Valley of the Thracian Kings is an area of south-central Bulgaria situated to the
west of the ancient Hellenistic polis of Seuthopolis / (near modern day
Kazanlak), on the southern slopes of the Haemus (Balkan) mountains. Over the past
decades this area has become one of the most popular tourist destinations in Bulgaria,
with thousands of visitors from all over the world coming to see such cultural treasures
as the UNESCO listed Kazanlak tomb and other sites in the area. According to
Bulgarian archaeologists, this remarkable archaeological complex was established by
the Thracian priest-king Seuthes III at the end of the 4
th
c. BC, and was the capital of
the Great Odrysae state and its ruling elite the immortal bearers of the esoteric faith-
doctrine of orphism, until the Roman period (Fol et al, Ancient Thrace 2000:120-121).













A bronze head discovered near the entrance of the Golyama Kosmatka Tumulus near
Seuthopolis, part of a life-size statue thought to be of Seuthes III.
(National Archaeological Museum, Sofia)


A 680 g. golden mask discovered in August 2004 in a grave in the Svetitsa tumulus near
Kazanlak.


However, behind the fairy tales and golden masks lies another reality, a reality which, for
reasons best known to Bulgarian archaeologists, is conspicuously absent from their glossy
tourist brochures and history books.


The first archaeological evidence for the presence of a completely different culture in
the Valley of the Thracian Kings was registered by Bulgarian archaeologists in the
pre-communist period (Popov 1928/29; Kazarov 1919:1930). Chronologically, the earliest
evidence for Celtic presence in this part of Thrace comes from the depiction of warriors
carrying oval Celtic shields on the friezes at the Kazanluk tomb itself which date to the
end of the 4th c. BC (s Sl ons an Sls artls t t lt.) From the first
quarter of the 3rd c. BC onwards a substantial quantity of Celtic (La Tne) material at
Seuthopolis (now submerged beneath the Koprinka reservoir) and the surrounding area
has been registered, which testifies to a lasting Celtic presence in this area dating from
the beginning of the 3
rd
c. BC until the Roman period.
This includes:
Celtic double-spring fibulae at Seuthopolis which represent 36.7% of the overall
number of brooches found at the settlement (Ognenova-Marinova 1984:160-16; Emilov
2010:75). Such have been found found in practically every part of the Thracian
settlement. Furthermore, they appear in archaeological layers from both before and
after the destruction of the city (Emilov op cit:76) i.e. provide irrefutable evidence of
Celtic settlement in this area both before and after the destruction of the city in the
middle of the 3rd c. BC. (on the destruction of Seuthopolis see below). Evidence
of production of such La Tne fibulae at Seuthopolis (loc cit) should also be noted.



Spatial distribution of Celtic (La Tne) brooches in Seuthopolis (marked with B
(bilateral fibulae).
(After Emilov 2010)

Further archaeological evidence of Celtic settlement recorded in this area includes:
Bronze Celtic rings (Ognenova-Marinova 1984: 180-81, fig. 5-6); Iron chain-belts
(Ognenova-Marinova, op cit: 205; Domaradski 1984: 141, fig. 46); Gold double spring
Celtic fibulae from tumulus #2, secondary brick grave A at Seuthopolis (Chichikova
1957:134/35, fig. 2/3; Wozniak 1975:182, taf. I, 9,10; 1976:391, fig. 3/1,4; Domaradski
1984:124, fig. 43; Megaw 2004: fig. 10)








A pair of Celtic golden double-spring fibulae from secondary grave A in tumulus No 2
near Seuthopolis
(Atr onak 1975)


Golden double-spring fibula
decorated in gold filigree, granules
and inlaid with dark blue, light
green and black cloisonn enamel
discovered in the Celtic burial at
Sashova Tumulus, Shipka (early
2
nd
c. BC)
(After Kitov 1996: fig.10; Marazov
1998:102 Both published this
fibula and other Celtic material from
burials in the Seuthopolis/Shipka
ara as Traan. On this see
Manov 2010, Lazarov 1996, 2010)

Other Celtic finds recorded in this area include Celtic graphite pottery (Chichikova
1984:52/53); Bracelets LTB1/B2 (Domaradski 1984: 140); firepots (Domaradski 1984:
147; s Cult Frpots artl); La Tne swords (Getov 1962; Domaradski 1983: 41-42;
1984: 133-34, fig. 37; Emilov 2010:76); Helmets (Getov 1962: 41-43; Lazarov 1996:77;
Emilov 2010:76); La Tne C1 brooches from tumulus #5 at Dolno Sahrane, Kazanluk
(Getov 1972; Emilov 2010:78); Silver La Tne fibulae from Kran, Kazanluk district
(Popov 1929; Emilov op cit); Celtic jewelry, fibulae and torcs from the villages of
Sahrane and Kran, near Kazanluk (Lazarov 1996:77). These included a silver S-formed
ornament, two gold earrings, a silver arm-ring, a necklace of silver pearls and a silver
Celtic fibula from a tumulus at Kran (Kazarow 1930:560) from what appears to have
been the burial of a Celtic princess; Celtic warrior burials from Kazanluk (Getov 1962;
Domaradski 1984:133-34; 1991:131; Megaw 2004:103; Mac Congail 2008:53 n. 194; Emilov
2010: 76). Another Celtic warrior burial found north of Kazanluk which included a La
Tne C1 sword is analogous with inhumation graves in eastern parts of the La Tne
Zone (Szabo 1992:27-28) and in the territories of the Celtic Scordisci (Todorovich 1968:
17; 1974:55-56; Jovanovich 1992:21-25), as well as warrior burials among the
Transylvanian Celts (Rostoiu 2008:13-18; 45-49; see Emilov 2010:78-79 with cited
lit.); Celtic warrior burials complete with La Tne swords, shields and other weaponry
ritually bent in the distinctive Celtic religious fashion from the Taja area, slightly to the
west of Seuthopolis (Domarask 1993; Ma Conal 2008: 53 n. 194; s Klln t
Ojts Sls an Saral Daggers artls).
Recent finds from the area of the Shipka Pass slightly to the northwest of Seuthopolis
include Celtic artifacts such as the gold fibula, Celtic sword, chainmail, and silver torc
from the burial at Sashova tumulus and an iron La Tne sword, shield umbo, two round
bronze fibulae and 3 torcs found at the Celtic burial at Fomus tumulus, again near the
Shipka Pass (Manov 2010:fig. 4-9).

Celtic torc from Sashova Tumulus near the Shipka Pass
(after Manov 2010:fig. 4)
THE KINGS WHO VANISHED

The establishment, nature, and location of the fortified Hellenistic polis at Seuthopolis
at the end of the 4
th
c. BC raise a number of fundamental questions. Why was such a
lavish Hellenistic/Macedonian complex built in the Balkan mountains at precisely this
juncture in history?
The nature of the complex, which is unique in Thrace and, from an architectural and
structural perspective, Hellenistic rather than Thracian, as well as archaeological and
numismatic evidence from the site which shows the presence of Macedonian troops
there (Nankov 2009), clearly show that Seuthes III and his successors were under de
facto Macedonian control and played a role similar to the puppet kings, again from
the Thracian Odrysae tribe, who were installed by the Romans at the end of the 1
st
c.
BC / beginning of the 1
st
c. AD to facilitate their rule in Thrace (on t Orsa puppt
kns n t Roman pro s T Sors ars artl). Judging from the lavish
palace complex and rich Macedonian type tombs in this area it appears that the
Thraco-Macedonian elite profited substantially from this relationship, although there is
no evidence that this prosperity was shared by the ordinary Thracian population.

According to Bulgarian archaeologists, there is no evidence whatsoever for the
Thracian tribes being destroyed, killed or expelled by the Celts, nor is there any
evidence of conflict between the Celts and the Greek west-Pontic colonies (Dimitrov
2010). However, the arrival of the Celts did mark the end of the dominance of the
Thraco-Macedonian (Odrysae) royal elite in the area, and an end to the process of
Hellenization in the Thracian interior.

Extensive Celtic material from the Seuthopolis area indicates that it was the initial
centre of the Celtic state in eastern Thrace from the first quarter of the 3
rd
c. BC
(Lazarov 2010; Manov 2010).In the middle of the 3
rd
c. BC this center was moved to the
hill at Arkovna as a result of the campaign of the Syrian king Antiochus II (loc cit; see
also Numismatics section 1). In this campaign, during which Seuthopolis was destroyed
either by Antiochus or more probably by the Celts themselves, the Syrian king was
accompanied by the Thracian nobles Dromichaetes and Teres (Polyaen. Strat. 4.16). The
latter Thracian aristocrat was, according to Bulgarian experts, the son of Seuthes III
(Delev 2003:113; Yourokova 1982) which clearly indicates that the Syrian campaign was
a failed attempt to dislodge the Celts from southeastern Thrace and restore the Thraco-
Macedonian royal elite. Another Syrian king, Antiochus Hierax, who landed in Thrace
in 228/227 BC, was killed by the Celts soon after his arrival (Pomp. Trogus Prol. XX VII;
Dimitrov op. cit. 62).


So why would the Macedonians support, elevate and finance this particular Thracian
dynasty in such an unprecedented manner?

Seuthopolis is situated slightly to the southeast of the strategically vital Shipka Pass, the
main route over the Balkan (Haemus) mountains into southern Thrace. Indeed, as
subsequent Balkan history has clearly illustrated, from a military perspective control
over the Shipka Pass is the key to southern Thrace. Chronologically, the establishment
of the Hellenistic fortified complex at Seuthopolis coincides exactly with the period of
Celtic expansion into the area of todays Bulgaria between the Danube and Balkan
mountains, and the first military clashes between the Macedonian army and Celtic
groups in the Balkan mountains (Plinius Naturalis historia XXX.30.53; Seneca,
Quaestiones naturales III.11.3). It is therefore clear from the chronology, geographical
context, and the archaeological data at our disposal that the Hellenistic polis at
Seuthopolis was established near the Shipka Pass to prevent the Celtic tribes crossing
into southern Thrace and threatening Macedonia itself. In the light of the available
archaeological evidence, it also becomes clear that this strategy was a complete failure.


Eastern Thrace 3
rd
c. BC

So what actually happened in the Valley of the Thracian Kings at the beginning of the
3
rd
c. BC?

While other Macedonian fortresses in Thrace such as those at Krakra (Pernik region
western Bulgaria) (Domaradski 1984:117; Popov 2004:141; Dimitrov 2010:54) or Pisteros
(Pazardjik region central Bulgaria) (Bouzek 2004, 180; 2006:79; Dimitrov 2010: 54)
were destroyed by the Celts during the expansion at the end of the 4
th
/ beginning of the
3
rd
c. BC, archaeological data from Seuthopolis shows no evidence of such conflict
during this period.
The archaeological material from Seuthopolis and the surrounding area outlined above
dates the beginning of Celtic settlement here to the 1
st
quarter of the 3
rd
c. BC, while the
lack of evidence of destruction pertaining to this period indicates that there was no
military conflict between the Thraco-Macedonian defenders of Seuthopolis and the
Celts. Thus, an analysis of the geo-political facts pertaining to this period, and the
chronological context of the archaeological evidence found in the Valley of the
Thracian Kings, clearly indicates that as soon as the Celtic tribes approached the
Shipka Pass, the Thracian immortal Orphic priest-kings of the Odrysae state (Fol op.
cit.), who had been installed by the Macedonians to defend the pass, simply abandoned
the city and fled.














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Mac Congail