Sunday, 12 February 2012



Bulgaria’s Famed Thracian Archaeologist, Georgi Kitov, Dies



BalkanTravellers.com   

22 September 2008 | Georgi Kitov, one of Bulgaria’s most prominent archaeologists, died of a heart attack on September 14.

Kitov, who specialised in Thracian sites, passed away during excavations on the archaeological site of Starosel in central Bulgaria, known for its ancient tombs and temples.

National media reported that he had been doing excavations at the site for a week and that new Thracian artefacts, dating to the fourth and fifth centuries BC, had been discovered there on September 13 and 14.

Kitov, aged 65, was known as much for his significant archaeological finds as for his controversial methods – he worked by using earthmoving machines and rarely documented his finds, claiming that he had to work quickly to deter looters.

The archaeologist is credited with the discovery of, among others, the religious complex near Starosel, the Thracian ruler’s gold mask in a fifth century BC burial mound outside the town of Shipka and Alexander’s tomb near Haskovo, decorated with unique frescos dating to the middle of the fourth century BC.

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