Thracian Tomb, Tarnovo, Bulgaria, 2006
Photograph by Kenneth Garrett
At the ancient cult complex of Mishkova Niva, a monumental wall of white marble, mined locally in the mountains of southeastern Bulgaria, circles the ruins of a Thracian tomb from the second or third century B.C.
Possibly as early as the second millennium B.C. a sanctuary took shape here, perhaps for the worship of a heroic tribal king. The site continued as a sacred place for centuries. It may have lost that status about the sixth century A.D., when Slavic invasions began to obliterate Thracian culture.
