History of BulgariaHistory of Bulgaria
Cut-out detail; background removed. The original burial chamber in its present setting: stone female figures, beds and a faint painting above them. Lighting is modern.
Chamber with caryatids

Sveshtari · Antiquity

Ten women beneath the stone ceiling

Why do these women raise their hands?

9 scenes · 3 min · Sources · 6

StartListen

Stone hands, leaf-like dresses and a wreath above a rider. Explore a tomb of the Getae and distinguish what we see from how we interpret it.

The original burial chamber in its present setting: stone female figures, beds and a faint painting above them. Lighting is modern.

Part 1 · Antiquity

Ten women in stone

Ten stone women stand with raised arms in a tomb near Sveshtari. Above them is a curved stone ceiling. They seem to have held it up for about 2,300 years. The women form part of the walls.

UNESCO dates the tomb to the third century BC. It is linked to the Getae, a Thracian people. Today the site is in northeastern Bulgaria. The place was intended for burial. What do the raised hands mean?

Listen to scene · 1

Synthetic voice · 0:25
Sources · 2
  1. UNESCO World Heritage Centre Thracian Tomb of Sveshtari UNESCO World Heritage List
  2. Исторически музей — Исперих Тракийска царска гробница
Geographic context, without historical bordersGeographic context, without historical borders12
Geographic context, without historical borders

Part 2 · Antiquity

The mound and its neighbours

The tomb lies beneath Ginina Mogila, recorded by archaeologists as Mound 7. It belongs to the eastern necropolis of Sboryanovo. Necropolis means cemetery. Separate mounds cover different burial places.

The gold treasure discovered in 2012 came from another mound: the Great Sveshtari Mound. The map also marks Demir Baba Teke, a sixteenth-century tomb. It is much later than the tomb with the stone women. The two points help us distinguish the places. They do not outline an ancient kingdom.

Listen to scene · 2

Synthetic voice · 0:31
Sources · 4
  1. Исторически музей — Исперих Тракийска царска гробница
  2. Археологически резерват Сборяново, project website The Sveshtari Tomb with the Karyatids Sborianovo.com
  3. Археологически резерват Сборяново, project website Demir baba teke Sborianovo.com
  4. Археологически резерват Сборяново, project website Sveshtari treasure Sborianovo.com
The original burial chamber in its present setting: stone female figures, beds and a faint painting above them. Lighting is modern.

Part 3 · Antiquity

Look at the hands

Dromos means entrance corridor. It leads to three rooms, called chambers. Their curved ceilings are called vaults. The central room holds ten women. They project from the walls: this is relief. They are called caryatids: female figures shown as supports.

Four face the entrance. Three stand on each of the opposing walls. Look at their hands reaching the stone band above them. Their faces differ, while their clothes end in leaf-like curves. Paint also survives on the decoration. There were once more colours here.

1 · Raised hand
The hand reaches the stone band. Caryatids are female figures shown as architectural supports.
2 · Leaf-like dress
The curves of the dress resemble leaves. Human figure and plant form share one relief.
3 · Stone bed
The chamber contains two stone funerary beds. One is visible here.

Listen to scene · 3

Synthetic voice · 0:31
Sources · 2
  1. UNESCO World Heritage Centre Thracian Tomb of Sveshtari UNESCO World Heritage List
  2. Теодора Василева Преглед на резултатите от интердисциплинарните изследвания на тракийската гробница при с. Свещари (по повод 40 г. от откриването ѝ) PDF Годишник на Шуменския университет „Епископ Константин Преславски“, Факултет по хуманитарни науки · 2022 · XXXIII A · 65–80
The original burial chamber in its present setting: stone female figures, beds and a faint painting above them. Lighting is modern.

Part 4 · Antiquity

The wreath above the rider

Above the four women facing the entrance is a semicircular field beneath the vault. It is called a lunette. A horseman is drawn there. Opposite him a woman extends a wreath. A wreath is a ring of branches and leaves.

One interpretation sees the wreath as honouring the ruler after death. Another sees it as receiving royal power. We see the gesture, but its meaning remains uncertain. The black-charcoal drawing was left unfinished. The lines are faint in the photograph; enlarge the image.

1 · Horseman
The horseman belongs to the unfinished black-charcoal drawing.
2 · Offered wreath
The woman offers a wreath. One interpretation sees the gesture as honouring the ruler after death. Another sees it as receiving royal power.

Listen to scene · 4

Synthetic voice · 0:29
Sources · 1
  1. Теодора Василева Преглед на резултатите от интердисциплинарните изследвания на тракийската гробница при с. Свещари (по повод 40 г. от откриването ѝ) PDF Годишник на Шуменския университет „Епископ Константин Преславски“, Факултет по хуманитарни науки · 2022 · XXXIII A · 65–80

Part 5 · Antiquity

Activity: seen or interpreted

Which can we describe without choosing an interpretation of the painting?

  1. A woman extends a wreath towards a horseman
  2. The scene proves a human became a god
  3. The horseman’s personal name
Why is that?

First describe the rider, woman and wreath. Then compare explanations of the gesture.

Correct · A woman extends a wreath towards a horseman

  1. Теодора Василева Преглед на резултатите от интердисциплинарните изследвания на тракийската гробница при с. Свещари (по повод 40 г. от откриването ѝ) PDF Годишник на Шуменския университет „Епископ Константин Преславски“, Факултет по хуманитарни науки · 2022 · XXXIII A · 65–80

Listen to scene · 5

Synthetic voice · 0:04
Sources · 1
  1. Теодора Василева Преглед на резултатите от интердисциплинарните изследвания на тракийската гробница при с. Свещари (по повод 40 г. от откриването ѝ) PDF Годишник на Шуменския университет „Епископ Константин Преславски“, Факултет по хуманитарни науки · 2022 · XXXIII A · 65–80
The original burial chamber in its present setting: stone female figures, beds and a faint painting above them. Lighting is modern.

Part 6 · Antiquity

Two stone beds

Below the female figures are two stone funerary beds. The dead were laid on beds like these. Who was buried here?

The Getic ruler Dromichaetes may have been buried here. His name, however, is not securely established. The stone beds show what the room was used for. They do not tell us the name of the person buried here.

Listen to scene · 6

Synthetic voice · 0:18
Sources · 3
  1. Археологически резерват Сборяново, project website The Sveshtari Tomb with the Karyatids Sborianovo.com
  2. Теодора Василева Преглед на резултатите от интердисциплинарните изследвания на тракийската гробница при с. Свещари (по повод 40 г. от откриването ѝ) PDF Годишник на Шуменския университет „Епископ Константин Преславски“, Факултет по хуманитарни науки · 2022 · XXXIII A · 65–80
  3. Исторически музей — Исперих Тракийска царска гробница
Stone corridor and facade inside the protective shell

Part 7 · Antiquity

The entrance beneath the mound

Archaeologists discovered the tomb in 1982. In 1985 it joined UNESCO’s World Heritage List. Today a protective shell and a rebuilt mound cover it. This layer of earth covers the tomb again. This helps preserve the stone women and the faint drawing.

Listen to scene · 7

Synthetic voice · 0:17
Sources · 3
  1. Исторически музей — Исперих Тракийска царска гробница
  2. UNESCO World Heritage Centre Thracian Tomb of Sveshtari UNESCO World Heritage List
  3. Теодора Василева Преглед на резултатите от интердисциплинарните изследвания на тракийската гробница при с. Свещари (по повод 40 г. от откриването ѝ) PDF Годишник на Шуменския университет „Епископ Константин Преславски“, Факултет по хуманитарни науки · 2022 · XXXIII A · 65–80

Part 8 · Antiquity

Activity: put events in order

Put the events from earliest to latest.

  1. Building the tomb
  2. Discovery by archaeologists
  3. UNESCO inscription
Why is that?

The tomb was built first: UNESCO dates it to the third century BC. Archaeologists discovered it in 1982. UNESCO inscription followed in 1985. Discovery comes after construction, and inscription comes after discovery.

Correct order

  1. Building the tomb
  2. Discovery by archaeologists
  3. UNESCO inscription
  1. UNESCO World Heritage Centre Thracian Tomb of Sveshtari UNESCO World Heritage List
  2. Исторически музей — Исперих Тракийска царска гробница

Listen to scene · 8

Synthetic voice · 0:03
Sources · 2
  1. UNESCO World Heritage Centre Thracian Tomb of Sveshtari UNESCO World Heritage List
  2. Исторически музей — Исперих Тракийска царска гробница

Part 9 · Antiquity

Activity: match the word to its place

Match the three words to their descriptions in this tomb.

  1. Dromos · The entrance corridor
  2. Caryatid · Female figure shown as a support
  3. Lunette · Semicircular field with a painting
Why is that?

The dromos is a passage, so it is neither a figure nor a field for a painting. A caryatid is a figure, so it is neither corridor nor lunette. The lunette is a field beneath the vault, so it is neither corridor nor female support.

  1. Исторически музей — Исперих Тракийска царска гробница
  2. Теодора Василева Преглед на резултатите от интердисциплинарните изследвания на тракийската гробница при с. Свещари (по повод 40 г. от откриването ѝ) PDF Годишник на Шуменския университет „Епископ Константин Преславски“, Факултет по хуманитарни науки · 2022 · XXXIII A · 65–80

Listen to scene · 9

Synthetic voice · 0:03
Sources · 2
  1. Исторически музей — Исперих Тракийска царска гробница
  2. Теодора Василева Преглед на резултатите от интердисциплинарните изследвания на тракийската гробница при с. Свещари (по повод 40 г. от откриването ѝ) PDF Годишник на Шуменския университет „Епископ Константин Преславски“, Факултет по хуманитарни науки · 2022 · XXXIII A · 65–80

A new find for your collection

Inside the tomb we see ten stone women and a painted wreath. The name of the deceased and the meaning of the gesture are not securely established.

Kazanlak Tomb · KazanlakHands beneath the domeCompare the images and beliefs in another story.Boyana Church · BoyanaThe faces of BoyanaThe Gospels of Ivan Alexander · LondonThe tsar between the pages

People in this story

Dromichaetes

Sources

  1. Археологически резерват Сборяново, project website Demir baba teke Sborianovo.com
  2. Исторически музей — Исперих Тракийска царска гробница
  3. Археологически резерват Сборяново, project website The Sveshtari Tomb with the Karyatids Sborianovo.com
  4. Археологически резерват Сборяново, project website Sveshtari treasure Sborianovo.com
  5. UNESCO World Heritage Centre Thracian Tomb of Sveshtari UNESCO World Heritage List
  6. Теодора Василева Преглед на резултатите от интердисциплинарните изследвания на тракийската гробница при с. Свещари (по повод 40 г. от откриването ѝ) PDF Годишник на Шуменския университет „Епископ Константин Преславски“, Факултет по хуманитарни науки · 2022 · XXXIII A · 65–80

Images

Interact-Bulgaria · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Open source

Full attribution

Photo: Interact-Bulgaria. Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0. The original burial chamber in its present setting: stone female figures, beds and a faint painting above them. Lighting is modern. Cut-out detail; background removed.

Interact-Bulgaria · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Open source

Full attribution

Photo: Interact-Bulgaria. Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0. The original burial chamber in its present setting: stone female figures, beds and a faint painting above them. Lighting is modern. Processed image.

Interact-Bulgaria · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Open source

Full attribution

Photo: Interact-Bulgaria. Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0. Stone corridor and facade inside the protective shell Processed image.

Geographic context, without historical borders

Tom Patterson · Nathaniel Vaughn Kelso · Public domain · Natural Earth

Open source

Full attribution

Tom Patterson · Nathaniel Vaughn Kelso