Bulgaria is often overlooked and underrepresented when it comes to its rich heritage. Bulgarian Archaeological Sites are continuously being uncovered, yet many have no idea that these sites will soon fall into the hands of industry, covered by infrastructure and only existent on archived documents.
The Shvestary village is situated in the Sboryanovo Reserve in the north-east of Bulgaria. The Thracian Tomb, dated to 300 BC, was discovered on this territory of an ancient religious centre in 1982. The interior, consisting of three chambers, includes splendid decoration depicting 10 female figures -- caryatids and a polychrome on the walls.
Extensive examinations of the site have focused on the ancient building and art techniques, assessment of the tomb's condition and the selection of the optimum conservation methods. Selected results of these examinations are presented.
The main preservation measure was construction of a permanent air-conditioned protective building over the tomb, securing a controlled environment.The 'minimal intervention' approach was used in the handling of the interior decorations, restricted to cleaning operations and reintegration of the broken fragments. Due to this 'passive' approach the tomb has retained its authentic appearance. So far, the results are positive for the more than twenty years that have passed since the tomb was found.
The Sveshtary Tomb in Sboryanovo Reserve is situated in the north-east of Bulgaria. On this territory there is an ancient religious centre and many Thracian hills with graves and tombs which were organized into a necropolis in the Hellenic period, 300 BC. In this place, the Thracian Tomb has been the most significant discovery of the last 20 years.The tomb is situated in the south east part of the Guinina Mogila. Its outer dimensions are 767cm x 667cm. It consists of a passage (dromos)leading to a building.
In the building there are three chambers: an anteroom, a side chamber and a central tomb chamber). The construction was built of limestone blocks. Three types of limestone were used: a hard, monolithic variety as block stone for structural building work, a medium hard stone for the inner walls and architectural details and reliefs, and a soft, lighter variety for construction of an upper part of the tomb.The interior includes splendid decoration depicting 10 female figures -- caryatids (Figure3).
The central chamber is decorated with a polychrome, a drawn scene on the arched part of the north-west wall. The tomb is a cultural monument which has been placed under the protection of UNESCO.
The Thracian Tomb has survived under the hill mound for 2,300 years. Over the course of time, the fluctuations in temperature and humidity were very slight, and degradation progressed very slowly
Text via bulgad @YouTube
