SBORYANOVO - NATURE AND MONUMENTS, GODS AND MEN

The traveling exhibition on the Sboryanovo National Archaeological Reserve aims to show the international community one Bulgaria’s most interesting archaeological reserves, which – amid a striking natural environment – boasts archaeological sites of exceptional significance, some of which, such as the Sveshtarska Tomb, are on UNESCO’s World Cultural Heritage list.
The cultural layers from prehistory to the present day are a testament to the preservation of the ancient Indo-European tradition of coexistence and mutual encounters among world religions. The meeting place – the capital of the northern Thracians – known to the Getae as Helis, or City of the Wolves on the famous map by Roman geographer Ptolemy, provides exceptional evidence not only of the heights of the Thracian civilization, but also the relationship between the ancient Thracian culture of the eastern Mediterranean and Europe, about the influence of Thracian culture, art and spirituality on the Celts and Germans. It also shows the contacts with the northern coast and western Asia Minor, Macedonia, Southern Italy, Egypt and Palestine, and the contribution of the Thracian Orphic beliefs to the formation of ideas in early Christianity. The site also offers vital information about early Bulgarian culture. Sboryanovo offers very interesting details about the connections between the Bulgarian lands and the East and Eastern religions, as well as their intermediary role in the spread of some Eastern beliefs in Western and Northern Europe. It is an outstanding example of the unifying significance and modern tolerance among different ethnic groups and religions in contemporary Bulgaria.
Research was done in the reserve using a number of innovative methods in research and conservation, along with active scientific and cultural co-operation with a number of European countries (France, Poland, the UK, Netherlands, Switzerland) and with, among others, Russia and Japan. This dynamic international co-operation on high-value historical items and the ideas that they convey makes the forthcoming exhibition important, and certain to inspire interest in many countries.
The exhibition, of 21 posters in the 100/130 format, includes photos, graphics and maps of high quality and great artistic value and a three-dimensional model of the Sveshtarska tomb.