The royal necropolis of Seuthopolis

I found the 4 visitable tombs are easily reached by a frequent local bus from Kazanlak to the village of Shipka from where it is a few kilometers walk.

The magnificent mask found near the tomb of Seuthes III can be admired in the Archeological Museum in Sofia.

I found each of the tombs interesting and surprising in their design. I think the extension would make sense.

Seuthopolis, one the main cities from Thracian era, now lies under the water of an artificial lake near Kazanlak. But several tombs from Thracian kings and nobles, hidden under earth tumuli, still cover the area around it. While Kazanlak tomb is the most famous one (for its paintings) and is already a WHS, several other tombs have been proposed as an extension of this site. Some of these tombs can easily be visited: they are just a 15 minute drive north of Kazanlak, very well sign-posted from the main road, and very close to each other.

We first visited Goliama Kostmaka, famous because a beautiful sculpted head of the king buried in that tomb was found during the archaeological investigations. It is believed to be Seuth III, king of Seuthopolis. But the tomb itself is also very impressive, built with massive stones, perfectly adjusted to each other, which in some way reminded us of the Inca constructions in South America (although Thracian civilization is much older than Incas). Inside are also displayed copies of artefacts and jewelleries found in the tomb, including a gold crown similar to the one found at Philippe II tomb in Aegia, Greece. As a family, we paid the equivalent of 5 euros to visit that place.

We then went to a nearby group of three other tombs – Griffins, Helvetia, Shushmanets. Those three are 200 m from each other, and there is a small, recently opened visitors information point where you buy a …