5 July 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

Unique Gold Artefacts of Thracian Horseman Found in Bulgaria

The Topolovgrad Municipality posted on its Facebook page on Wednesday that during excavations at the site of a Thracian warrior’s tomb in the Topolovgrad village of Kapitan Petko Voyvoda, valuable and unique archaeological artifacts, including gold jewelry, were found.

Among them are as well as numerous weapons, a breastplate, a gold necklace, a gold diadem, a gold ring, a knife decorated with gold elements, and semi-precious stones. A horse was also found buried next to the human body, indicating that the warrior must have been a horseman from a rich family.

The archaeologists, led by Daniela Agre, say some of the finds are unparalleled among those ever discovered in Bulgaria. The findings are valuable not only for Bulgaria, but also for Europe.

On the second day of excavations, the team found the tomb of a Thracian warrior from the Roman troops from the early 1st century AD and unique artifacts.

Photo: Topolovgrad Municipality /Facebook

‘The tomb contains all the battle equipment of this warrior. There is a very interesting braided breastplate, which was very rare in Roman times. An unusual hunting knife with a handle decorated with precious stones, with motifs that we have not come across in Thrace since that period, has a gold necklace that is unique in our country at this stage,” said Daniela Agre.

The handle of the hunting knife was decorated with precious stones and one of the gold bands depicted hunting dogs.

The archaeologists, led by Daniela Agre, say some of the finds are unparalleled among those ever discovered in Bulgaria. Photo: Topolovgrad Municipality /Facebook
The archaeologists, led by Daniela Agre, say some of the finds are unparalleled among those ever discovered in Bulgaria. Photo: Topolovgrad Municipality /Facebook

We will be able to see the gold ornaments in their full glory by the end of the week when they will be moved to the museum in Topolovgrad, where a special room is already being built to protect them and meet all the requirements. Until then, however, the site will be guarded around the clock by the police.

Thracian warriors were the most famous light infantry soldiers in the classical world. They were known as Thracian peltasts because of the peltast shields they carried. The pelta was crescent-shaped, made of wicker covered with goat or sheepskin, and carried by a central handgrip.

The Thracian peltasts had a much bigger panoply, including knives (to defend themselves because these light troops were very vulnerable in close fight) as well as swords or spears of various kinds, thus opening to them a great diversity of formations of fight.

From the Fourth Century BC onwards, peltasts became an integral part of Greek armies, and Thracians formed part of the army that Alexander took into Asia, where, at the Battle of the Jhelum in 326 BC.

Topolovgrad Municipality

Cover ımage: Topolovgrad Municipality /Facebook

Related Articles

The Oldest “Book” of Europe: Derveni Papyrus

4 September 2022

4 September 2022

The Derveni papyrus is considered Europe’s oldest legible manuscript still in existence today. It is an ancient Greek papyrus roll...

The Mountain of Shemharus, King of the Ginn: Toubkal

14 August 2022

14 August 2022

Towering over the Atlas Mountains, Mount Toubkal is the highest peak in Morocco. Toubkal, the highest mountain in all of...

Two more Giants discovered at Mont’e Prama in Sardinia, Italy

7 May 2022

7 May 2022

Two more Giants have emerged from the Mont’e Prama excavations in Sardinia: both of the new statues have been described...

A monumental Etruscan tomb discovered in the necropolis of San Giuliano, north of Rome

25 February 2024

25 February 2024

After years of work, archaeologists discovered an impressive Etruscan tomb partially hidden underground in the rock-cut necropolis of San Giuliano...

Arkeologists decipher hieroglyphics of a vessel found in the archaeological rescue of the Mayan Train

16 May 2022

16 May 2022

Based on the analysis of eleven glyphic cartouches inscribed into a ceramic pot, discovered in October 2021 during archaeological rescue...

5,000-Year-Old Burial of High-Status Woman with Feathered Mantle Unearthed in Ancient Caral

27 April 2025

27 April 2025

Archaeologists in Peru have announced the remarkable discovery of a 5,000-year-old burial of a woman of high social standing at...

Archaeologists discovered 130 dwellings around the Ringheiligtum Pömmelte monument “German Stonehenge”

15 June 2021

15 June 2021

Archaeologists have unearthed 130 dwellings at an Early Bronze Age monument in Germany, indicating that the ‘Stonehenge’ was once home...

Runic Alphabet Symbols in the Tombs Found in the Excavations in Istanbul

23 May 2021

23 May 2021

In the excavations carried out by the Istanbul Archeology Museums in the area where the metro station will be built...

Archaeologists say 12,000-year-old flutes discovered in northern Israel may have been used to lure falcons

9 June 2023

9 June 2023

New research reveals that about 12,000 years ago, in northern Israel, humans turned the bones of small birds into instruments...

Archaeologists have found a previously unknown Roman city with buildings of monumental proportions in Spain’s Aragon Region

17 July 2022

17 July 2022

Archaeologists from the University of Zaragoza in Spain have discovered a previously unknown Roman city with buildings of monumental proportions....

A 12.000 -year-old temple was found during excavations in Boncuklu Tarla in southeastern Turkey

21 October 2021

21 October 2021

A temple thought to be 12 thousand years old was unearthed in Boncuklu Tarla in the Ilısu Neighborhood of Dargeçit...

‘Australia’s silk road’: the quarries of Mithaka Country dating back 2100 years

4 April 2022

4 April 2022

In Queensland’s remote Channel Country of red dirt and gibber rock, traditional owners and archaeologists have unearthed what researchers have...

Manot Cave yielded evidence for ritualistic gathering 35,000 years ago, the earliest on the Asian continent

13 January 2025

13 January 2025

Archaeological research at the Manot Cave in what is now the Galilee in northern Israel has uncovered evidence of ritualistic...

World’s Oldest Pants was Made through Three Weaving Techniques

26 February 2022

26 February 2022

Back in 2014, a group of archaeologists discovered in China a pair of wool pants dating back to around 3,300...

Fragments of the World’s Oldest Known Rune Stone Discovered in Norway

3 February 2025

3 February 2025

Archaeologists have found fragments of the world’s oldest known rune stone at the Svingerud burial field in Norway and fitted...