Starosel Travel Guide

In the year 2000, archeologists discovered the largest Thracian temple- tomb in the Southeastern Europe. According to the scientists, it dates back to the end of the V century and the beginning of the IV century BC and most probably is of Stalk, a Thracian ruler of the Odris Kingdom. Necropolis consists of eight mounds, each with different size. The tomb is located in a mound with 20 m of height and 85 m of diameter, figuring as a fortified wall. The enter of the sanctuary is 1.60 wide and its decoration is well-known as "wolves teeth".

The tomb is made of stone blocks, fastened together by iron clamps, and covered with lead. It consists of a southern parade stairway, two laterals, a passage, a main font, two chambers –a rectangular and a circle one.

There are many Thracian tombs in Bulgaria, but that in Starosel has preserved the spirit of the ancient Thracians and makes strong impression with its sumptuousness.

OK, here is a piece of advice from someone who actually had been trough that :)

If it is about dusk time and you want to see the tomb be aware that you might be stucked for a while in herds of goats coming back to Starosel after their daily pasture.

We almost missed the opening hours of the tomb because we went to the village around 16.45 h and the tomb closes at 17.00 h.

Generally, it should not be a problem because the tomb is only 4 km away from the village and it is sign posted. What caused the delay was the fact that we had to sneak trough herds like the one on the picture for about 3 or 4 times. Believe me, it is a good test of your patience since goats like to take it easy and do not hurry too much to get out of your way. One of them even stopped in front of the car and started to scratch itself :)))

Favorite thing: Starosel is a very small village located in Plovdiv region (for some reason here on VT it is listed under Pazardjik region which is simply not correct). It is in the territory of the Hissar Municipality, near to the Karlovo town, in the Oreshaka area.

According to statistical data available in the net the population is 1 423 people as of 13 Sept 2005. Besides being small, as you can see from the picture, it is not some fancy place to visit. What actually makes it worth visit is the Thracian temple - tomb situated 4 km away from the village.

Literary translated Strosel means Old village which probably is based on the fact that it is a very old settlement.