Valley of the Thracian Rulers

The Valley of the Thracian Rulers in the Kazanlak Valley of central Bulgaria contains an estimated 1,500 burial mounds, of which around 300 have been excavated, forming one of Europe's densest concentrations of ancient tombs. Named by archaeologist Georgi Kitov, whose TEMP expedition (1992-2006) investigated over 200 tumuli spanning the Iron Age and Roman periods, uncovering 15 tombs and rich funeral deposits. The most celebrated discovery is the Kazanlak Tomb, found accidentally by soldiers in 1944, renowned for its exceptional frescoes depicting a Thracian funeral feast. It became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979.