the people were that mixed with
the Thracians around 5,000 years
ago, from which Thracian civilisation itself would emerge. But it is
known that there were some who
came from the North to the Balkans
with their livestock, finding a place
with a bright and attractive culture.
It was the intermingling between
the local population and the new
arrivals that allows us to talk today
of the Thracians.
All of this, in light of archaeology,
allows us to know more about our
ancestors. But for some of them,
like the Thracians, what has been
discovered barely casts a shadow
over what is still unknown. There
are many mysteries surrounding
this ancient civilisation that occupied what is now Bulgaria and
some adjoining parts of Romania,
Greece and Turkey.
In archaeological terms, evidence
of civilisation in Bulgarian lands
dates back thousands of years.
Not coincidentally, it was found
in Provadia (Bulgaria) the oldest
prehistoric city in Europe, dated
between 4,700 BC and 4,200 BC,
in a fortified settlement of 350
inhabitants. On the other hand,
we know that for years the world’s
oldest golden treasure was not
found in Sumeria, nor in Egypt,
nor in pre-Columbian America but
in Varna (Bulgaria) and dates from
4,600 BC.
fighting spirit
The Thracians are well-known
for their exuberant fighting spirit;
but the history of a population is
not built only on its wars and the
exploits of its soldiers and leaders,
as it is usually read in encyclopaedias and history books. Spread
across South East Europe were
groups of men and women who
were highly skilled in working with
refined metals, who were followers of a delicate mystique that
Scientists and archaeologists still
harbour serious doubts about who
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