Bulgarian archaeologists have uncovered the remains of a Thracian city and a royal residence, the National Museum of History announced.

The first two floors of the palace, spreading over 104 square meters are preserved and the archaeologists, led by Ivan Hristov, have found many artefacts confirming royal presence.

The most indicative - a short two-face ritual iron axe, called labris is a well-known symbol of royalty in the ancient Thracian culture. A number of coins have also been discovered, depicting the Thracian kings Tereus, Kotis and Amatok among others.

The artefacts found at the excavation site help date the city and palace to the end of the 5th century B.C. The archaeologists assume that they have found the capitol of the Odris King Amatok, described by ancient Greek authors as standing twelve days away from the White Sea, nowadays Aegean Sea.

The excavation site is situated near the city of Hisar in Central Bulgaria, close to the Starosel village where a temple-tomb was discovered in 2000. Archaeologists believe that both discoveries are part of an ancient settlement, one that could become unique and thus extremely attractive to tourists if unified through good infrastructure.