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Important Inscription Discovered at Bulgaria’s Aquae Calidae

Friday, July 10, 2015

Aquae Calidae InscriptionBURGAS, BULGARIA—A marble slab bearing a first-century A.D. Greek inscription from the Odrysian Kingdom, the most powerful of the ancient Thracian states, has been unearthed at the site of Aquae Calidae, an ancient spa resort. “This is a historical monument of international importance,” archaeologist Miroslave Klasnakov told Archaeology in Bulgaria. The inscription, which belonged to Apollonius, son of Eptaikentus, a military governor, had been built into an altar and mentions the names of the last Thracian kings of the Odrysian Kingdom and their children. Aquae Calidae may have been an administrative center in addition to being a resort destination. The Romans eventually deposed the Odrysian kings and Thrace became a Roman province. The inscription also lists a shrine dedicated to Demetra that had been built by the military governor. The altar where the inscription was found may have been dedicated to her. To read about another Greek inscription found in Turkey, see "In Search of a Philosopher's Stone."

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