Seuthopolis and the ‘Valley of the Thracian Kings’ - Brendan Mac Gonagle

BEHIND THE GOLDEN MASK – Seuthopolis and the ‘Valley of the Thracian Kings’ The Valley of the Thracian Kings is an area of south-central Bulgaria situated to the west of the ancient Hellenistic polis of Seuthopolis / Σευθόπολις (near modern day Kazanlak), on the southern slopes of the Haemus (Balkan) mountains. Over the past decades this area has become one of the most popular tourist destinations in Bulgaria, with thousands of visitors from all over the world coming to see such cultural treasures as the UNESCO listed Kazanlak tomb and other sites in the area. According to Bulgarian archaeologists, this remarkable archaeological complex was established by the Thracian priest-king Seuthes III at the end of the 4th c. BC, and was the capital of the ‘Great Odrysae state’ and its ruling elite – the immortal bearers of the esoteric faithdoctrine of orphism, until the Roman period (Fol et al, Ancient Thrace 2000:120-121).

A bronze head discovered near the entrance of the Golyama Kosmatka Tumulus near Seuthopolis, part of a life-size statue thought to be of Seuthes III. (National Archaeological Museum, Sofia)

A 680 g. golden mask discovered in August 2004 in a grave in the “Svetitsa” tumulus near Kazanlak.

However, behind the fairy tales and golden masks lies another reality, a reality which, for reasons best known to Bulgarian archaeologists, is conspicuously absent from their glossy tourist brochures and history books.

The first archaeological evidence for the presence of a completely different culture in the ‘Valley of the Thracian Kings’ was registered by Bulgarian archaeologists in the pre-communist period (Popov 1928/29; Kazarov 1919:1930). Chronologically, the earliest evidence for Celtic presence in this part of Thrace comes from the depiction of warriors carrying oval Celtic shields on the friezes at the Kazanluk tomb itself which date to the end of the 4th c. BC (see ‘Shield coins’ and ‘Shields’ articles with cited lit.) From the first quarter of the 3rd c. BC onwards a substantial quantity of Celtic (La Têne) material at Seuthopolis (now submerged beneath the Koprinka reservoir) and the surrounding area has been registered, which testifies to a lasting Celtic presence in this area dating from the beginning of the 3rd c. BC until the Roman period.

This includes: Celtic double-spring fibulae at Seuthopolis which represent 36.7% of the overall number of brooches found at the settlement (Ognenova-Marinova 1984:160-16; Emilov 2010:75). Such have been found found in practically every part of the ‘Thracian’ settlement. Furthermore, they appear in archaeological layers from both before and after the destruction of the city (Emilov op cit:76) i.e. provide irrefutable evidence of Celtic settlement in this area both before and after the destruction of the city in the middle of the 3rd c. BC. (on the destruction of Seuthopolis see below). Evidence of production of such La Têne fibulae at Seuthopolis (loc cit) should also be noted.

Spatial distribution of Celtic (La Têne) brooches in Seuthopolis (marked with B (bilateral fibulae).

(After Emilov 2010)

Further archaeological evidence of Celtic settlement recorded in this area includes: Bronze Celtic rings (Ognenova-Marinova 1984: 180-81, fig. 5-6); Iron chain-belts (Ognenova-Marinova, op cit: 205; Domaradski 1984: 141, fig. 46); Gold double spring Celtic fibulae from tumulus #2, secondary brick grave A at Seuthopolis (Chichikova 1957:134/35, fig. 2/3; Wozniak 1975:182, taf. I, 9,10; 1976:391, fig. 3/1,4; Domaradski 1984:124, fig. 43; Megaw 2004: fig. 10)

A pair of Celtic golden double-spring fibulae from secondary grave A in tumulus No 2 near Seuthopolis (After Woźniak 1975)

Golden double-spring fibula decorated in gold filigree, granules and inlaid with dark blue, light green and black cloisonné enamel discovered in the Celtic burial at Sashova Tumulus, Shipka (early 2nd c. BC) (After Kitov 1996: fig.10; Marazov 1998:102 – Both published this fibula and other Celtic material from burials in the Seuthopolis/Shipka area as ‘Thracian’. On this see Manov 2010, Lazarov 1996, 2010)

Other Celtic finds recorded in this area include Celtic graphite pottery (Chichikova 1984:52/53); Bracelets – LTB1/B2 (Domaradski 1984: 140); firepots (Domaradski 1984: 147; see ‘Cult Firepots’ article); La Têne swords (Getov 1962; Domaradski 1983: 41-42; 1984: 133-34, fig. 37; Emilov 2010:76); Helmets (Getov 1962: 41-43; Lazarov 1996:77; Emilov 2010:76); La Têne C1 brooches from tumulus #5 at Dolno Sahrane, Kazanluk (Getov 1972; Emilov 2010:78); Silver La Têne fibulae from Kran, Kazanluk district (Popov 1929; Emilov op cit); Celtic jewelry, fibulae and torcs from the villages of Sahrane and Kran, near Kazanluk (Lazarov 1996:77). These included a silver S-formed ornament, two gold earrings, a silver arm-ring, a necklace of silver pearls and a silver Celtic fibula from a tumulus at Kran (Kazarow 1930:560) from what appears to have been the burial of a Celtic princess; Celtic warrior burials from Kazanluk (Getov 1962; Domaradski 1984:133-34; 1991:131; Megaw 2004:103; Mac Congail 2008:53 n. 194; Emilov 2010: 76). Another Celtic warrior burial found north of Kazanluk which included a La Têne C1 sword is analogous with inhumation graves in eastern parts of the La Têne Zone (Szabo 1992:27-28) and in the territories of the Celtic Scordisci (Todorovich 1968: 17; 1974:55-56; Jovanovich 1992:21-25), as well as warrior burials among the Transylvanian Celts (Rostoiu 2008:13-18; 45-49; see Emilov 2010:78-79 with cited lit.); Celtic warrior burials complete with La Têne swords, shields and other weaponry ritually bent in the distinctive Celtic religious fashion from the Taja area, slightly to the west of Seuthopolis (Domaradski 1993; Mac Congail 2008: 53 n. 194; see ”Killing the Objects’ ‘Shields’ and ‘Sacrificial Daggers’ articles).

Recent finds from the area of the Shipka Pass slightly to the northwest of Seuthopolis include Celtic artifacts such as the gold fibula, Celtic sword, chainmail, and silver torc from the burial at Sashova tumulus and an iron La Têne sword, shield umbo, two round bronze fibulae and 3 torcs found at the Celtic burial at Fomus tumulus, again near the Shipka Pass (Manov 2010:fig. 4-9).

Celtic torc from Sashova Tumulus near the Shipka Pass (after Manov 2010:fig. 4)

THE KINGS WHO VANISHED

The establishment, nature, and location of the fortified Hellenistic polis at Seuthopolis at the end of the 4th c. BC raise a number of fundamental questions. Why was such a lavish Hellenistic/Macedonian complex built in the Balkan mountains at precisely this juncture in history?

The nature of the complex, which is unique in Thrace and, from an architectural and structural perspective, Hellenistic rather than ‘Thracian’, as well as archaeological and numismatic evidence from the site which shows the presence of Macedonian troops there (Nankov 2009), clearly show that Seuthes III and his successors were under de facto Macedonian control and played a role similar to the ‘puppet’ kings, again from the Thracian Odrysae tribe, who were installed by the Romans at the end of the 1 st c.

BC / beginning of the 1st c. AD to facilitate their rule in Thrace (on the Odrysae ‘puppet’ kings in the Roman period see ‘The Scordisci Wars’ article). Judging from the lavish palace complex and rich Macedonian type tombs in this area it appears that the Thraco-Macedonian elite profited substantially from this relationship, although there is no evidence that this prosperity was shared by the ordinary Thracian population.

According to Bulgarian archaeologists, there is no evidence whatsoever for the Thracian tribes being destroyed, killed or expelled by the Celts, nor is there any evidence of conflict between the Celts and the Greek west-Pontic colonies (Dimitrov 2010). However, the arrival of the Celts did mark the end of the dominance of the Thraco-Macedonian (Odrysae) royal elite in the area, and an end to the process of ‘Hellenization’ in the Thracian interior.

Extensive Celtic material from the Seuthopolis area indicates that it was the initial centre of the Celtic state in eastern Thrace from the first quarter of the 3rd c. BC (Lazarov 2010; Manov 2010).In the middle of the 3rd c. BC this center was moved to the hill at Arkovna as a result of the campaign of the Syrian king Antiochus II (loc cit; see also Numismatics section 1). In this campaign, during which Seuthopolis was destroyed either by Antiochus or more probably by the Celts themselves, the Syrian king was accompanied by the Thracian nobles Dromichaetes and Teres (Polyaen. Strat. 4.16). The latter Thracian aristocrat was, according to Bulgarian experts, the son of Seuthes III (Delev 2003:113; Yourokova 1982) which clearly indicates that the Syrian campaign was a failed attempt to dislodge the Celts from southeastern Thrace and restore the ThracoMacedonian ‘royal’ elite. Another Syrian king, Antiochus Hierax, who landed in Thrace in 228/227 BC, was killed by the Celts soon after his arrival (Pomp. Trogus Prol. XX VII; Dimitrov op. cit. 62).

So why would the Macedonians support, elevate and finance this particular Thracian dynasty in such an unprecedented manner?

Seuthopolis is situated slightly to the southeast of the strategically vital Shipka Pass, the main route over the Balkan (Haemus) mountains into southern Thrace. Indeed, as subsequent Balkan history has clearly illustrated, from a military perspective control over the Shipka Pass is the key to southern Thrace. Chronologically, the establishment of the Hellenistic fortified complex at Seuthopolis coincides exactly with the period of Celtic expansion into the area of today’s Bulgaria between the Danube and Balkan mountains, and the first military clashes between the Macedonian army and Celtic groups in the Balkan mountains (Plinius Naturalis historia XXX.30.53; Seneca, Quaestiones naturales III.11.3). It is therefore clear from the chronology, geographical context, and the archaeological data at our disposal that the Hellenistic polis at Seuthopolis was established near the Shipka Pass to prevent the Celtic tribes crossing into southern Thrace and threatening Macedonia itself. In the light of the available archaeological evidence, it also becomes clear that this strategy was a complete failure.

Eastern Thrace – 3rd c. BC

So what actually happened in the „Valley of the Thracian Kings‟ at the beginning of the 3rd c. BC?

While other Macedonian fortresses in Thrace such as those at Krakra (Pernik region – western Bulgaria) (Domaradski 1984:117; Popov 2004:141; Dimitrov 2010:54) or Pisteros (Pazardjik region – central Bulgaria) (Bouzek 2004, 180; 2006:79; Dimitrov 2010: 54) were destroyed by the Celts during the expansion at the end of the 4 th/ beginning of the 3rd c. BC, archaeological data from Seuthopolis shows no evidence of such conflict during this period.

The archaeological material from Seuthopolis and the surrounding area outlined above dates the beginning of Celtic settlement here to the 1st quarter of the 3rd c. BC, while the lack of evidence of destruction pertaining to this period indicates that there was no military conflict between the Thraco-Macedonian defenders of Seuthopolis and the Celts. Thus, an analysis of the geo-political facts pertaining to this period, and the chronological context of the archaeological evidence found in the ‘Valley of the Thracian Kings’, clearly indicates that as soon as the Celtic tribes approached the Shipka Pass, the Thracian „immortal Orphic priest-kings‟ of the Odrysae state (Fol op. cit.), who had been installed by the Macedonians to defend the pass, simply abandoned the city and fled.

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Mac Congail