The ancients mocked the face of the Thracian ruler Seutus III with a burning torch

The second statue is connected with a mystical ritual , which was discovered by archaeologists in the ancient city of Heraclea Sintica. This was shared 24 hours ago by Prof. Dr. Ludmil Vagalinski from NAIM-BAN, quoted by dariknews.bg.

"She has a strange ritual - we found the head 6 meters from the body. This has to be explained because it was done deliberately", the archaeologist is convinced, but at this stage he keeps his assumptions secret.

Still, the professor sheds some light on why many of the ancient statues are headless.

"It could have been caused by a fall, but it could also have been caused by a smooth cut during internal conflicts in the respective society. For example, when changing religion. We know this was the case when paganism was replaced by Christianity. There is information that in some places it was accompanied by collisions and that the fractures were made on purpose," Ludmil Waglinski revealed.

And he gave an example with the head of Sevtus III, which was discovered in 2004 by the archaeologist Georgi Kitov in the Golyamata Kosmatka mound. Archaeologists discovered that it was separated very carefully from the body. "The person who made it knew metal casting and statuary and had an idea of where to press to separate the head - perhaps with a lever," says Prof. Waglinski.

And he revealed an even more curious detail - while the statue of Sevtus was intact, it was insulted and the face struck with a torch. "One of the cheekbones has a deep cut, and one eye is in a serious condition. Traces of bitumen from the burning of the torch are visible, the eyeball is slightly displaced to the side. It is possible that after the death of this powerful ruler, those dissatisfied with his power attacked his figure ritually in order to "punish" him, the archaeologist also believes.

The body from the statue of the Thracian king has not yet been found. It is assumed that it towered in the middle of the capital Seutopolis.

The head of the Thracian king from "The Big Hairy" is an exceptional work of art. One of the rare bronze sculptures that have come down to us from antiquity with preserved eyes made of alabaster and glass paste in four different colors. Eyes that seem to have a piercing gaze. The work is reminiscent of the school of sculptors from the era of Alexander the Great.