Vratsa Proves to Be the Most Ancient Thracian Capital

Standart Daily, 20 June 2007

This summer, a team of Bulgarian archaeologists will search for proofs to the thesis that Vratsa was the capital of the Tribali tribe where generations of Thracian rulers lived. The excavations will start in the region of Vratsata pass where the experts expect to find a 2,800-year-old settlement. If their hypothesis is proven true, they will disprove the widespread assumption that Vratsa was founded by the Slavs in 6th century AD.

The town will become as famous as Troy or the Valley of Kings, scientists say.
In order to prove that Vratsa is the oldest capital in the Bulgarian lands we should unearth architectural sites more ancient than Philippopolis (now Plovdiv), Kabile (near Yambol) or Seutopolis (near Kazanlak), said senior research officer Dr. Nartsis Torbov, head of the archaeological expedition.

The excavation works start today with technical equipment almost as good as this of the black archeologists. The local municipality has allotted 20,000 levs for the ambitious project. Archaeological expeditions worked in the region of the Vratsata pass over 40 years ago, but the flood in 1966 hampered further work.

It has been proved that a settlement existed near the Vratsata pass as early as 4th-5th century BC. There is enough evidence and archaeological finds in support of this fact. To greatest regret, the finding of the Mogilanska Mogila mound at the center of Vratsa in 1966 and the discovery of the Rogozen treasure 20 years later have diverted the archeologists' attention.

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