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Bulgarian Heritage
The Bulgarian lands are ancient crossroads. They were populated from remote antiquity
and remember many ancient civilizations.
The state of Bulgaria has 1300 years old history and according to the statistics it is ranked third (after Greece and Italy)
for the number of its archaeological monuments.
The earliest inhabitants of the present Bulgarian lands were the Thracians.
Ancient Greek historian Herodotus describes the Thracians as the second biggest
tribe in the Ancient world, after the Indians. The most famous Thracians were
Spartacus and Orpheus.
Spartacus was born on the territory of present-day town of Sandanski (south-western Bulgaria)
and as an adolescent was sold into slavery in ancient Rome. Later he became the
legendary gladiator that led the biggest slave uprising in the Antiquity.
Orpheus is known for his incredible talent as a musician and singer. He was born near
the present village of Guella in the Rhodopes Mountain a little before the Trojan
war. The legend tells that he was the greatest singer of all time and even the
wild animals stopped to listen to his music. Also he took part in the quest of
the Argonauts together with Jason and Heracles.
The Bulgarians were the basic Ethnic component in the structure of the Mediaeval Bulgarian
State. Their original home land was in Central Asia, in the mountainous region
of Pamir. As a highly developed civilization they had culturally dominated the
territories of central Asia for a long time. In the middle of the 7th century
Khan Asparuh united the ancient Thracian nation and the Slavic tribes and founded
the mighty Bulgarian Empire on the crossroad with Asia and Africa.
Here are some flashlights from Bulgarian plentiful heritage:
1. Bulgaria has a 13 century of history, since 681 A.D.
2. Bulgaria has harboured and developed culture in 2 alphabets - the Cyrillic (9th
century) and the Glagolic (862), courtesy of Saints Cyril & Methodius (Cyrillic
is the basis of most languages spoken in Eastern Europe today)
3. Bulgaria is the first Slavic nations that adopted Christianity
4. Bulgaria was once one of the 3 biggest empires in Europe among the Frankish,
and the Byzantine (it spanned between the Mediterranean, the Black, and the White
Seas)
5. Bulgaria preserved its ethnicity, religion, and culture after 200 years Byzantine
and 500 years Turkish yokes!
6. Bulgaria, in its modern history never lost a battle and never lost a flag, captured
by its enemies' armies
7. Bulgaria in its modern history saved the lives of its 50,000-strong Jewish population,
despite ill-fated and ill judged alliance with Nazi Germany!
8. Bulgaria’s “Izlel e Delyo Haidutin” folk-song was sent in deep space on the
board of the US Space Probe -Voyager I as part of a collection of our Civilization's
finest cultural arts & facts - message to an alien intelligence!
9. Bulgaria gave birth to numerous scientists, artists, and athletes (among whom
is George Atanasoff –the inventor of the computer).
Magura cave - prehistoric paintings presenting hunting scenes, dances, animistic, totemic
and pantheistic cult figures form the Glacial Epoch.
Seaside Neolithic and Palaeolithic cultures - traces found along the Southern
cost of Black sea. Most of the remains indicate high level mastery of materials
such as china clay, stone, wood, bronze and iron.
The oldest gold in the world dated 8000 years back is with Thracian origin.
Rogozen treasure - discovered in the winter of 1985-1986 in north-west Bulgaria, is the largest
single collection of ancient treasure ever found in south-eastern Europe. The
165 pieces of silver in this hoard weigh almost 20 kilograms and were found in
two groups of 100 and 65, placed five meters apart at only 0.4 meters depth. This
immense hoard, accumulated over nearly 150 years from the mid-5th century to the
last quarter of the 4th century BC, includes vessels from specific workshops in
Anatolia, Eastern Greece, Southern Thrace, and North-Western Thrace.
Panagjurishte treasure - While digging for clay for brick making near the town of Panagjurishte in
Sredna Gora Mountain, Central Bulgaria, a team of workmen came upon what was obviously
an important treasure. When finally unearthed, it was found to consist of a phial
and eight rhytons, one shaped like an amphora and the others like heads of women
or animals. Dated to the turn of the fourth and third century BC, the find was
sensational, not only for its weight in gold - over 6 kg, but also for the originality
of its form and ornaments.
Kazanlak tomb in Southern Bulgaria is famous for its beautiful wall paintings
of the early 3rd century BC, one of the most unique masterpieces of Early Hellenistic
pictorial art. Despite the small surface containing the decorative friezes, the
unknown artist has created an exceptional work of art. This tomb was built during
the reign of king Seuthes III, either for him personally or for close relatives
among the nobility.
Shipka tomb - include seven tombs recently uncovered in the south foothills of the Balkan
Range. They consist of developed façades, each notably different from one another.
Not surprisingly, most of these tombs had been robbed in ancient times, with only
one remaining untouched by treasure-hunters.
Karanovska mound - extremely unique remains of pottery and other household ware dating back to
the late Palaeolithic and the early Neolithic Ages found near the town of Nova
Zagora. Because of that, Karanovska mound is called "the Noah's Ark of the European
civilization".
Mogilanska mound - yielded in the town of Vratza, during 1965-1966 excavations in the heart of
the city, three stone tombs of noble Thracian chiefs. In the main chamber skeletons
of an adult man and a young man were found with two silver jugs, four inscribed
phalli, bronze Greek vessels, and arms including a wood quiver (gorythos) with
many bronze arrowheads, iron spearheads, a bronze Chalkidian type helmet and a
silver-gilt greave (knemis) The younger man, who had been killed by an iron spearhead,
wore an elegant gold head wreath, gold earrings, gold buttons, pendants and rosette-shaped
appliqués. In the third Vratza tomb, partly robbed in antiquity were skeletons
of a man and a woman with gold and silver jugs, gold jewellery, votive clay objects,
a quiver with arrowheads, and iron spearheads. The gold jug shows two galloping
four-horsed chariots with a man in a hauberk. The dating of the Vratza tombs,
based on several Attic pottery vessels, is about 375-340 BC.
Golyama Kosmatka mound
Summer 2004 proved the season of archaeological sensations for Dr. Georgi Kitov from the Museum of Archaeology with the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. First, his expedition found a gold phial-mask of a Thracian ruler, then a bronze head from the school of the great Phidias and on the night of October 5 – a fully preserved funeral of a Thracian noble. The tomb has three chambers with a dromos (corridor) with a total length of 26 meters. In the first chamber, the archaeologists discovered the burial of a horse, the second proved empty, while in the third they found a symbolical funeral.
“The valley of the Kings” in the region of Kazanluk, Southern Bulgaria, turned out to be royal but also golden. The more than 70 objects found as gifts for the deceased are of exceptional interest. 20 of them are made of gold – a kylix (goblet) with an ornamented bottom, a gold wreath of oak leaves and many applications from a horse munition, a deer head, a head of an African man…They are all made of gold, but what makes them particularly valuable is their high aesthetic and scientific value. When he found the bronze head Dr. Kitov said that “so much good luck in just one year was enough”, but it seems fate had one more surprise in store for him – the earliest Thracian tomb in the Bulgarian lands, and also one of the biggest. The Golyama Kosmatka mound has now become the symbol of the discoveries made by the Thracian Expedition for Mound Studies 2004. But what makes this particular find unique?
“It is unique in its spatial structure,” says Dr. Kitov. “I have never said it
is the biggest – it is one of the biggest but is certainly one of the most beautiful
and is the richest. The objects are unique in their elegance and their age – they
date back to the 5th century BC. This is the earliest find of this type to date.
The utensils made of gold, the wreath, the applications – these are all unique
finds. They are yet to be studied.”
Besides being made of precious metal, is the interest in the gold objects found
in the tomb any different than the interest in all other finds?
“Yes, they are of exceptional interest, as they have no analogue,” says Dr. Kitov. “Some of them are entirely unknown in the history of Thracian archaeology. Changes may now have to be made in Thracian studies. Many of the things we took for granted will now have to be re-considered. Dates change, as do our ideas of what crafts the Thracians practiced, their contacts etc.”
The finds from the Golyama Kosmatka mound have proved a rare chance for archaeology
– that of discovering a burial left intact by treasure-hunters in antiquity and
in the present day. Besides the superb gold objects, the other finds are of exceptional
value as well: an iron sword in a leather sheath with gold applications, a bronze
sword, a helmet and a suit of armour with a picture of Athena Pallas. Cheek-plates,
which have no known analogue, two knee-plates, amphorae. All this enables archaeologists
to reconstruct the burial ritual and come as proof of the practicing of rituals,
connected with the cult of Orpheus.
Bulgarian Culture
For thirteen centuries, Bulgaria - the cradle of Slav culture, the land of Orpheus
and Spartacus has given the world men of great achievements, mysterious Thracian
treasures and burial tombs, magnificent frescos and many brilliant examples of
ancient applied arts.
Bulgarian festivals and customs date back to ancient times when men tried to
appease the natural elements and trembled before their power. Full of beauty,
gaiety, mystical voices, fiery dances and brightly coloured costumes - Bulgarian
folklore has to be seen, felt and experienced!
Fire dancing is the most ancient mysterious ritual - barefooted dancers performing on burning
embers. This religious and mystical ritual for expelling illness, for health and
fruitfulness is one that must be seen to believe it.
The Festival of Roses is a lovely festival celebrated in the Rose Valley near the town of Kazanlak
(at the foot of the Balkan Range) on the first weekend of June every year. The
festival is a pageant of beauty in the unique Rose Valley. In the run-up of the
event, a Queen Rose beauty contest is held in several rounds. Artists, actors,
circus performers, writers and singers flock to Kazanlak at the start of June.
The Bulgarian oleaginous rose yields 70 percent of the world's attar of roses
used by every perfume company as an essential component of its products.
The history tells that in the Thracian provinces of the Roman Empire, the Thracians
grew 12 varieties of roses, one of them known as the "Thracian Rose".
In the 1270, during the crusades, Count de Gruye brought the Damascus rose from
Syria to the valley of Kazanlak where conditions proved excellent. Experts claim
that Bulgarian roses and rose oil owe their unique properties to the local climate
and the generous soil. The temperatures in February, when roses bud, are ideal.
The blossoms are picked in May and June, when high humidity is very important.
So is the cinnamon-forest soil in the area and, last but not least, the remarkable
skills of the Bulgarian rose-oil producers.
Kukeri Carnival held in the region of Dupnitza and Pernik is a splendid festival of brightly
coloured masks and costumes which marks the beginning of the spring. Every participant
makes his own multi-coloured personal mask, covered with beads, ribbons and woollen
tassels. The heavy swaying of the main mummer is meant to represent wheat heavy
with grain, and the bells tied around the waist are intended to drive away the
evil spirits and the sickness.
The Bulgarian voices are called to be mystery. Experts are still trying to explain the incredible
range of the Bulgarian voice and the variety of songs. Its unique sound was universally
acknowledged by the fact that the popular Rhodopes song "Izlel e Delyu Haidutin"
sung by the talented singer Valja Balkanska was recorded on a gold record and
was sent as a message to outer space on the American spaceship Voyager in 1977.
The world is discovering it again and again at major folklore and song contests
in Italy, France, England and Ireland from which the Bulgarian music and dance
ensembles invariably walk off with the first prizes.
The folk festivals "Pirin Sings" and "Rozhen Sings" are the best-known Bulgarian
folklore festivals. Last year alone, some 150 000 visitors from Bulgaria and abroad
came together to witness the show by the 4 000 performers on each festival. They
came not only to see these inspiring events, but also to learn about the curious
world of Bulgarian folklore traditions.
Applied crafts have gradually emerged from the narrow frame work of strictly domestic life
to become an art which breeds art: Bulgarian embroidery with its intricate geometrical
figures, Bulgarian rugs and carpets with their vibrant colours, exquisitely painted
Bulgarian ceramics, finely ornamented Bulgarian fretwork and superbly fashioned
Bulgarian jewellery.
The Samovodene Market in Veliko Tarnovo, the Permanent National Exhibition of
Folk Art in Oreshak near Trojan and the Etara architectural and ethnographic complex
near Gabrovo are all original museums of the revived beauty of Bulgarian handicrafts.
You are bound to find your own particular memento from Bulgaria here - a small
carved wooden wine vessel, a Troyan pottery set, a fleecy Rhodopes rug, an original
piece of silver jewellery, a finely embroidered silk blouse or a colourful carpet.
Bulgarian monasteries
Having survived the times with the self-confidence of the most zealous guards
of the Bulgarian culture and language, the Bulgarian monasteries still fascinate
the present-day visitor with the pure and harmonious line of the buildings' exquisite
colonnades, arches and vaults, spacious rooms richly decorated with murals and
fretwork. There are nearly 120 monasteries on the territory of Bulgaria nestled
in the most private parts of the mountains, surrounded with virgin nature. The
story of each monastery is quite intriguing and full of heroic moments.
When Christian monastic community emerged as a spiritual vanguard of the new
Christian world, it was as early as the 4th - 5th century that monasteries began
to be built in the Bulgarian lands. Written documents and archaeological excavations
from that time testify to the existence of several dozens of monasteries raised
on territories that would later be inhabited by Bulgarian people.
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