Bulgaria - the Ancient Kingdom of Thrace
Updated on: 07.12.2007, 12:43
Published on: 07.12.2007, 12:08
Author: Stephen Cole, Al Jazeera

Bulgaria was once part of the ancient kingdom of Thrace, and every
year archaeologists there unearth many artefacts of great age and
importance.
However, with the rise of organised treasure hunters, there is a
darker side to reclaiming the country's buried wealth.

Raiders are stealing hundreds of antiquities worth millions of
dollars and robbing Bulgarians of an irreplaceable and priceless
heritage.
Although Bulgaria's Illegal Trafficking Squad has managed to recover
hundreds of antiquities, dating back thousands of years, their
successes are rare.
Valley of kings

In the southeast of Bulgaria lies an area that, in ancient times, was
the Valley of the Thracian kings.

Described by Greek scholars as savage, blood-thirsty warriors, the
most famous of them was Spartacus.

But the Thracians were also artists of great skill.

Burial mounds housing the tombs of their rulers litter the landscape,
many of them hiding priceless treasures.

The tomb of King Seuthus III dates back to the 4th-century BC.

But as the tombs in the valley are opened up, looters are competing
with archaeologists to claim the country's cultural heritage.

Weak laws

Seuthus' crown and cup, which were dug up from his tomb, are proudly
displayed in a local museum.

It was an incredible discovery, and the treasures have toured the
world.

But Dr Georgi Kitov, the archaeologist who found them, believes the
Bulgarian government must work harder to stop illegal digs or risk
losing its priceless heritage.

Kitov said: "There is a law but it is being broken. The government
need to make a serious law forbidding illegal digs and if people find
artefacts, they must be encouraged to hand them in to the museum for
a reward.

"Bulgaria is a poor country, the government doesn't have the money to
invest in history and culture, so many artefacts are being sold into
foreign collections and no one knows they even originated from here.
They are stealing our past."

Stolen to order

Volodya Velkov is the head of a special unit formed a year ago to
tackle a trade that is now worth billions of dollars.

Velkov said: "The artefacts are stolen to order by rich Bulgarians
living abroad and foreigners too.

They not only buy the pieces, but finance the illegal digs too. This
is upsetting, as a Bulgarian, as a citizen of Europe. They are
stealing our children's heritage."

In the basement of Bulgaria's national museum a restoration team
works tirelessly piecing together fragments of the past.

The country's law states that everything found in the soil belongs to
the nation, but only a few pieces make it into their hands.

Some that have include a 3rd-century set of ritual drinking vessels.

Made of pure gold and weighing six kilos they are priceless and
irreplaceable.

The collection was saved for the nation by a farmer, but others are
less scrupulous.

Secret deal

Al Jazeera reporters posed as buyers to see if they could find
someone willing to sell them a valuable illegal artefact.

They were told by a local contact to go to a private courtyard
belonging to a house filled with dealers and buyers.

Only coins were on show, although some were worth thousands of
dollars

But when they heard what we were looking for, we were sent to meet a
contact in a market.

After a brief conversation, the man assured us that if we returned on
Monday, he would bring what we were looking for.

Al Jazeera left the deal there and then, but the team was never in
any doubt that, for a price, it could have bought a piece of
Bulgaria's rich heritage.