Thracian Tomb, Shushmanets

The Thracian tomb at Shushmanets is a mound located in the Valley of the Thracian Rulers [1]. It was built as a temple in the 4th century BC and later used as a tomb [1]. The temple has a long and wide entry corridor and an antechamber, a semi-cylindrical room supported by an elegant column [1]. The top of this column has the form of a knucklebone [1]. Four horses and two dogs were sacrificed in the antechamber [1]. The central room is circular in shape, supported by a beautiful polished Doric column ending with a large disc symbolizing the sun [1]. The tomb's columns represent Thracian beliefs about the universe and the creation myth [1]. Archaeologist Georgi Kitov discovered the tomb in 1996 [1].