Post by Rhezus on Oct 21, 2007 7:50:02 GMT -5
"Seuthopolis was not a true polis, but rather the seat of Seuthes III (Sevt) and his court. His palace had a dual role, functioning also as a sanctuary of the Cabeiri. Most of the space within the city was occupied not by homes but by official structures, the majority of the people living outside the city.
The dual role of Seuthes' palace (royal court and sanctuary) indicates that Seuthes was a priest-king: the high priest of the Cabeiri among the Odrysian Thracians. A hearth altar stood in the center of the Cabeiri sanctuary, the Cabeiri being associated with fire and metallurgy and with the smith-god Hephaest.
The cemetery of Seuthopolis included a number of brick tholos tombs, some covered by tumuli, in which the upper-class were interred, sometimes along with their horses. The less affluent were cremated, with modest grave goods laid alongside.
The ruins of the city were discovered and excavated in 1948 by Bulgarian archeologists during the construction of the Georgi Dimitrov (later renamed Koprinka) Reservoir. However, it was decided to continue with the construction and flood the dam, leaving Seuthopolis at its bottom.
In 2005, Bulgarian architect Zheko Tilev proposed a project to uncover, preserve and reconstruct the city of Seuthopolis (the best preserved Thracian city in Bulgaria) by means of a dam wall surrounding the ruins in the middle of the dam, enabling the site's inscription as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and making it a tourist destination of world importance. Tourists would be transported to the site by boats. The round wall, 420 metres in diameter, would enable visitors to see the city from 20 metres above and would also feature "hanging gardens", glass lifts, a quay, restaurants, cafés, shops, ateliers, etc. It would be illuminated at night.
The project was donated by the architect to Kazanlak municipality and funds are being raised to begin construction. According to Tilev, it would cost minimum €50 million."
(From answers.com)
"They were promoters of fertility and protectors of seafarers. The Cabeiri were also identified with the Great Gods of Samothrace, and their cult reached its height in the 4th century BC.
The Samothracians were also originally non-Greek, and are associated with the Trojans and Pelasgians; they used a foreign language in the temple through Julius Caesar's time.[2]
Samothrace offered a initiatory mystery, which promised safety and prosperity to seamen. The secret of these mysteries has largely been kept; but we know three things about the ritual: the aspirants were asked the worst action they had ever committed;
The Samothrace mysteries of the Cabeiri were known at Athens, where Herodotus had been initiated. But at the entry to the sanctuary, which has been thoroughly excavated, the Roman antiquary Varro learned that there had been twin pillars of brass. He describes them as Heaven and Earth, denying the vulgar error than they are Castor and Pollux.
The mysteries of Samothrace did not publish the names of their gods; and the offerings at the shrine are all inscribed to the gods or to the great gods rather than with their names. But ancient sources tell us that there were two goddesses and a god."
(answers.com)
The dual role of Seuthes' palace (royal court and sanctuary) indicates that Seuthes was a priest-king: the high priest of the Cabeiri among the Odrysian Thracians. A hearth altar stood in the center of the Cabeiri sanctuary, the Cabeiri being associated with fire and metallurgy and with the smith-god Hephaest.
The cemetery of Seuthopolis included a number of brick tholos tombs, some covered by tumuli, in which the upper-class were interred, sometimes along with their horses. The less affluent were cremated, with modest grave goods laid alongside.
The ruins of the city were discovered and excavated in 1948 by Bulgarian archeologists during the construction of the Georgi Dimitrov (later renamed Koprinka) Reservoir. However, it was decided to continue with the construction and flood the dam, leaving Seuthopolis at its bottom.
In 2005, Bulgarian architect Zheko Tilev proposed a project to uncover, preserve and reconstruct the city of Seuthopolis (the best preserved Thracian city in Bulgaria) by means of a dam wall surrounding the ruins in the middle of the dam, enabling the site's inscription as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and making it a tourist destination of world importance. Tourists would be transported to the site by boats. The round wall, 420 metres in diameter, would enable visitors to see the city from 20 metres above and would also feature "hanging gardens", glass lifts, a quay, restaurants, cafés, shops, ateliers, etc. It would be illuminated at night.
The project was donated by the architect to Kazanlak municipality and funds are being raised to begin construction. According to Tilev, it would cost minimum €50 million."
(From answers.com)
"They were promoters of fertility and protectors of seafarers. The Cabeiri were also identified with the Great Gods of Samothrace, and their cult reached its height in the 4th century BC.
The Samothracians were also originally non-Greek, and are associated with the Trojans and Pelasgians; they used a foreign language in the temple through Julius Caesar's time.[2]
Samothrace offered a initiatory mystery, which promised safety and prosperity to seamen. The secret of these mysteries has largely been kept; but we know three things about the ritual: the aspirants were asked the worst action they had ever committed;
The Samothrace mysteries of the Cabeiri were known at Athens, where Herodotus had been initiated. But at the entry to the sanctuary, which has been thoroughly excavated, the Roman antiquary Varro learned that there had been twin pillars of brass. He describes them as Heaven and Earth, denying the vulgar error than they are Castor and Pollux.
The mysteries of Samothrace did not publish the names of their gods; and the offerings at the shrine are all inscribed to the gods or to the great gods rather than with their names. But ancient sources tell us that there were two goddesses and a god."
(answers.com)