Image Credit: Topolovgrad Municipality
Posted on 08/27/2024 10:04:40 AM PDT by SunkenCiv
Archaeologists have unearthed an ancient tomb in Topolovgrad, southern Bulgaria. The team led by Dr. Daniela Agre found gold artefacts inside the tomb that are thought to belong to a Thracian warrior.
The Thracians were an Indo-European ethnic group which emerged during 3rd millennium BC in the Early Bronze Age. They were situated at Balkan Peninsula and were constituted of different tribes with distinct cultural outlook. The Thracians had interactions with Roman Empire and Greek city-states over time. They became famous for their military prowess during these exchanges. They served as a kind of non-citizen troops in armies of roman empire, acting as both cavalry and light infantry men...
The tomb found as a result of excavations carried out under the leadership of Dr. Daniela Agre dates back to the 1st century BC...
When looking at the content of the tomb, it is seen that the Thracian warrior's war equipment was placed with great care. According to Dr. Agre's explanations, the golden diadem and breastplate among these equipment symbolize the warrior's status and his place in society. The golden diadem was probably used as a symbol of the warrior's military victories and honor. In addition, the decorative knife found in the grave carries a symbolic meaning beyond being just a weapon. This knife suggests that the warrior's hunting skills and perhaps an object used for ritual purposes.
In the excavations carried out right next to the grave, the skeletal remains of a horse were also found. This finding shows that the warrior was a horseman.
(Excerpt) Read more at ulukayin.org ...
“This knife suggests that the warrior’s hunting skills and perhaps an object used for ritual purposes.”
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Archeologists seem to place a lot of emphasis on rituals and such, but how much time did the primitives and ancients really have for such things in their relatively short lifespans? Seems to me their main concerns would be food, survival, shelter and security leaving little time for ceremonial activities.
Apparently, Stacking has very early roots. They knew then what only some people know now: the only REAL money is gold, and if you don't Hold it, you Don't Own It.
The Roman gladiator Spartacus was a Thracian warrior.
That’s some fine craftsmanship for 2100 years ago!.....
My wife has a gold rope necklace exactly like that. I had no idea they could do that thousands of years ago.
The fact that we still do things that are not necessary for survival per se shows that it’s built in. That said, ‘ritual purpose’ is a lazy way to describe odd items that get dug up.
spartacus??
“shows that it’s built in”
There certainly isn’t any obvious survival purpose to the cave paintings, or any other ancient art. We kind of assume “ritual” is involved because people assembled in larger groups than their normal living-group size.
In the case of the dagger, it’s fancier than strict practicality calls for. That could just as easily be for status as for ritual, “I’ve got a fancier knife than my cousin has!”
Take a look at some Minoan art—extremely fine craftsmanship, ca. 3400 years ago. Amazing details.
Herodotus says of the Thracians, “to live by war and plunder is of all things most glorious.”
I am Thracian!......................
“it’s fancier than strict practicality calls for”
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In a word: Bling.
He ravished Thrace thrice.
The historian Thucydides was the son of a man named Olorus, but whether that means Thucydides had Thracian ancestry is uncertain. Possibly he was related somehow to Cimon. But his father's name could just mean that his grandfather had ties of friendship with the Olorus who was king in Thrace (but not of all of Thrace).
Ravaged................
At least according to that impeccable source, A Funny Thing Happened on the way to the Forum.
For that matter, Roman emperor Maximinus Thrax was Thracian. He was proclaimed emperor by his legion, had a lot of support, probably was well known throughout the Roman army. He was allegedly illiterate, allegedly taller than most, and seems to have known how to lead troops. After less than three years, he was murdered, circa age 65. It wouldn’t surprise me to learn that it was what we’d call a contract hit.
His predecessor met the same end. Factions in the Senate still thought they got to boss everyone around, and that led to a few years of civil war, and probably both assassinations.
This all took place near the beginning of a 50 year period called the Crisis of the Third Century, which come to think of it was probably the result of factional feuds in the Roman senate.
I’m pretty fond of a few of these 3rd c crisis emperors, including M. Thrax, and the kinda spectacular Aurelian, as well as the pretender Carausius in Britain and part of Gaul. That old teen series by Rosemary Sutcliff that starts with “Eagle of the Ninth” does a nice job dramatizing him (”The Silver Branch”).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maximinus_Thrax
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4f/Maximinus_Thrax_Musei_Capitolini_MC473.jpg
https://www.maltonmuseum.co.uk/2021/01/11/carausius/
I like ravished better.
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