Seuthopolis, the Lost Thracian Capital at the Bottom of a Reservoir
Seuthopolis was a Hellenistic city founded by the Thracian king Seuthes III in the late fourth century BCE, near today's Kazanlak. Its ruins were found and studied in full during the construction of a dam, and then left under the waters of the Koprinka reservoir. Nothing of it can be walked through today, but its story, finds and the nearby royal tombs make it a rewarding stop.
Archaeologists found this Thracian city in 1948 and then watched the dam water close over it. Seuthopolis, the best-explored Thracian city in Bulgaria, still lies at the bottom of a reservoir.
The history of Seuthopolis
Seuthopolis was founded by the Thracian king Seuthes III at the end of the fourth century BCE, between about 325 and 315 BCE according to English sources, and it is described as a capital of the Odrysian kingdom. The Thracians were then living in the shadow of Macedonia. After the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BCE his generals fought over control of the region. Seuthes at first resisted Macedonian dominance by force but in 306 BCE accepted the overlordship of Lysimachus, which allowed him to keep some autonomy. The city took his name, following the fashion of Hellenistic rulers, and probably arose after the generals made peace in 311 BCE.
It was built on the site of an earlier fortified royal residence, on a small peninsula by the river Tonzos, today the Tundzha, with the Golyama Varovitsa flowing along its eastern side. It was planned in advance in the regular Greek grid style associated with Hippodamus of Miletus. Its pentagonal wall, about 890 metres long, enclosed roughly five hectares, and there were gates, paved streets, an agora, wells and a drainage system that carried waste water into the river. Houses stood on stone foundations with mud-brick walls. Most of the space within the walls was taken up by official buildings, and most people lived outside.
In the northern part stood an inner citadel, the palace of Seuthes, richly decorated with painted walls and a colonnade. It also housed a sanctuary of the Cabeiri, the great gods of Samothrace, which suggests that Seuthes was both king and high priest. An altar on the agora was linked to the worship of Dionysus; an inscription mentions a priest named Amaistas, son of Medistas. The city had both Thracian and Greek inhabitants, and its coins show that it issued its own money. A burial ground with brick tholos tombs, some under mounds, lay outside; the wealthy were buried, sometimes together with horses, while poorer inhabitants were cremated with modest grave goods.
The city did not last long. It was sacked by Celts in the third century BCE, and some sources give the date as 281 BCE, while others place its end in the 260s BCE. In time the river silted it over and it was forgotten. Its ruins were found in 1948 by Bulgarian archaeologists during the construction of the dam then named for Georgi Dimitrov, later renamed Koprinka. A team led by Professor Dimitar P. Dimitrov excavated the entire city and three large mounds of its necropolis over the next seven years.
Although the discovery was important, the dam was completed and the ruins were flooded, so Seuthopolis lies at the bottom of the reservoir. One of its most important finds, the so-called Great Inscription found in 1953 in the palace, is written in Greek and shows how Hellenised the Thracian elite had become. In 2005 the architect Zheko Tilev proposed building a round wall around the ruins, 420 metres across, to expose them again, and a 2008 plan for a concrete ring was also published, but neither has been carried out. Newer research questions whether the city was ever Seuthes' main seat of power or rather a small, representative Hellenistic centre.
Curious facts about Seuthopolis
- Seuthopolis is regarded in Bulgarian sources as the only fully excavated ancient Thracian city on Bulgarian territory.
- The Great Inscription found in 1953 is in Greek and, according to Polish sources, records a solemn oath by Queen Berenice and her sons about a man named Epimenes, probably a physician of Seuthes.
- Most of the space inside the walls held official buildings, and only a small number of homes of the Thracian elite.
- Houses in the city had domestic hearth-altars, plastered platforms in the middle of the main room, decorated and coloured.
- The palace of Seuthopolis resembles in plan and size the temple of Heracles on Thasos.
- A peak on Greenwich Island in Antarctica, Sevtopolis Peak, was named after the city in 2005.
Tours near Seuthopolis
Experiences in the area that you can book online with Viator:
Visiting the Seuthopolis area: what to expect
- The ruins are submerged beneath the Koprinka reservoir, so there is no excavated site to walk through; check what, if anything, can currently be seen from the shore.
- A model of the city is displayed in the Iskra museum in Kazanlak, which helps to picture the layout.
- Several kilometres north lies the Valley of the Thracian Rulers, where many Thracian royal tombs are located.
- Nearby sights on this site include the Thracian Tomb of Kazanlak, about 8 km away, the Thracian tomb Ostrusha and the Tomb of Seuthes III, around 9 km away.
- Check the current opening hours of museums and tombs before you go.
Opening hours, access and conditions can change. Check before you go.
Map: where Seuthopolis is
Photos of Seuthopolis
Questions
What is Seuthopolis?
Seuthopolis was a Thracian city founded by King Seuthes III at the end of the fourth century BCE, near today's Kazanlak. It served as his royal seat and is described as a capital of the Odrysian kingdom.
Where is Seuthopolis and can you visit it?
Its ruins lie at the bottom of the Koprinka reservoir near Kazanlak in Stara Zagora Province. They are underwater, so they cannot be visited like an ordinary archaeological site.
Why is Seuthopolis underwater?
The ruins were found in 1948 during construction of a dam. Archaeologists were given several years to excavate, but the dam was completed and the city was flooded.
What is the Great Inscription of Seuthopolis?
It is a Greek text found in 1953 in the palace, written on a marble stele. It shows that the Thracian elite was already strongly Hellenised in the third century BCE.
Could Seuthopolis ever be uncovered again?
Proposals exist, including a 2005 plan for a round wall around the ruins and a 2008 plan for a concrete ring, but none has been carried out.
What else is near Seuthopolis?
The Valley of the Thracian Rulers lies a few kilometres to the north, with royal tombs such as the Thracian Tomb of Kazanlak, Ostrusha and the Tomb of Seuthes III.
Also nearby
Thracian Tomb of Kazanlak
Kazanlak · UNESCO beehive tomb with Thracian frescoes
7.5 km away
Thracian Tomb Ostrusha
Shipka · six-room Thracian tomb-temple with a painted ceiling
9 km away
Tomb of Seuthes III
Shipka · unrobbed royal Thracian tomb with golden wreath
9.5 km away
The Valley of the Thracian Rulers
Kazanlak · over 1,500 Thracian burial mounds in the Rose Valley
10 km away