Thracian & Roman ruins
Thracian tombs and sanctuaries, Roman cities and Greek colonies on the Black Sea. Less crowded than the big names, and thousands of years old.
Map: © OpenStreetMap contributors
34 places
Abritus
Razgrad · Roman walled city and 835 gold coins
Amphitheatre of Serdica
Sofia · Roman gladiator arena found by chance in 2004
Beglik Tash
Primorsko · megalithic sun sanctuary above the Black Sea
Belintash
Asenovgrad · carved rock sanctuary with unsolved riddles
Cabyle
Yambol · Thracian city, Roman camp and archaeological reserve
Develtos
Debelt, Burgas · Roman colony turned Byzantine-Bulgarian border
Durankulak Archaeological Complex
Durankulak · stone houses and a vast cemetery from 7,000 years ago
Heraclea Sintica
Rupite · ancient city located thanks to a chance inscription
Magura Cave
Belogradchik · cave of 750 prehistoric paintings made of bat guano
Marcianopolis
Devnya · Roman capital of Moesia with amphitheatre and mosaics
Mesembria
Nessebar · Thracian town, Greek colony and Roman port
Museum of Mosaics, Devnya
Devnya · Roman villa with Medusa and mythological mosaics
Nicopolis ad Istrum
Veliko Tarnovo · Trajan's Roman city of victory
Nicopolis ad Nestum
Garmen · Roman walls, baths and mosaics by the Mesta
Novae
Svishtov · Roman legion fortress with a military hospital
Oescus
Gigen · Roman Danube colony with a marble great hall
Perperikon
Kardzhali · rock-cut Thracian city and Balkan megalith giant
Pistiros
Septemvri · Greek emporion far from the sea in Thrace
Plovdiv Roman Stadium
Plovdiv · a 30,000-seat Roman stadium under the main street
Ratiaria
Vidin region · Roman Danube colony and capital of Dacia Ripensis
Roman Thermae in Varna
Varna · the Balkans' largest Roman baths, later a prison
Roman Tomb in Silistra
Silistra · 4th-century tomb painted from floor to vault
Sacred Pit of Garlo
Garlo · underground well-temple with Sardinian echoes
Serdica
Sofia · Roman city walls and gates under the capital
Seuthopolis
Kazanlak · Thracian royal city flooded by Koprinka reservoir
Solnitsata
Provadia · walled salt-makers' town, over 6,000 years old
The Valley of the Thracian Rulers
Kazanlak · over 1,500 Thracian burial mounds in the Rose Valley
Thracian Tomb of Aleksandrovo
Haskovo · Thracian tomb with a painted royal hunt
Thracian Tomb of Kazanlak
Kazanlak · UNESCO beehive tomb with Thracian frescoes
Thracian Tomb of Sveshtari
Sveshtari · UNESCO tomb with unique carved caryatids
Thracian Tomb Ostrusha
Shipka · six-room Thracian tomb-temple with a painted ceiling
Tomb of Seuthes III
Shipka · unrobbed royal Thracian tomb with golden wreath
Varna Necropolis
Varna · Copper Age cemetery with the “oldest gold in the world”
Villa Armira
Ivaylovgrad · Roman villa with mosaics and marble décor