By Ivelina Puhaleva

In 2000 three archaeological sensations moved Bulgaria into the focus of world archeological interest. These were the discoveries of the temple-tomb at Starosel, the fortress palace at Perperek, and the beehive tomb at Alexandrovo.

The most interesting from military history's point of view is the early 4th century BC Alexandrovo tomb, located near the town of Haskovo, about 220 km southeast of capital Sofia.

Its marvelous colourful murals show hunt scenes in which all the clothed figures are wearing Greek-style costume, similar to the costumes in the Kazanluk tomb paintings. However, the Alexandrovo ones' are shining with more brighter colours. The 300 century BC Kazanlak tomb is enlisted by UNESCO as part of world cultural heritage.

The tomb was discovered accidentally on December 17, 2000 at the bottom of a 4-metre-deep ditch dug by an earth-moving machine. It had been plundered and part of the murals was damaged.

Тhe tomb consists of two rooms - a rectangular entryway and a round chamber with a two-meter high dome cover. Both rooms are covered with murals: men, several fully armed warriors, animals, plants and geometric motifs. The figure of a horseman, spearing a boar, occupies a central place on the dome of the tomb.

The pictures are painted in red, blue, yellow, and black, but the predominant colour is that of brick red. The paintings depict more primitive scenes than those in the Kazanlak tomb, which shows off their older age.

The Alexandrovo images have little in common with the Greek art of painting, usually related to mythological themes, which means that they were the work of local Thracian masters.

The tomb's uniqueness has attracted an international team of researchers who are on a visit in Bulgaria to estimate its needs of reconstruction and preservation. Their final assessment will be decisive for enlisting the Alexandrovo tomb into the list of UNESCO monuments.