10.29.25

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome. This is Marcia for Radio I and today I
will be reading National Geographic History Magazine. As a reminder,
Radio I is a reading service intended for people who
are blind or have other disabilities that make it difficult
to read printed material. Please join me now for the
first article entitled Thracian Treasure Buried Gold of the Balkans

(00:23):
Across Bulgaria, Romania, Greece and Turkey. The Thracians buried caches
of treasure. Since the mid twentieth century, these exquisite gold
and silver pieces have been coming to light, revealing unexpected
traits of this ancient peopil. This article by Hangel Carlos
Perez Aguero. For the longest time, little was known about

(00:46):
the ancient Thracians, a group of highly diverse tribes of
Indo European origin. At the beginning of the fourth millennium
b c. They settled in what is today European Turkey,
Eastern Greece, and Bulgaria. At the art of the Middle Ages,
Slavic migrants joined the mix. Thracians left behind few of
their own written records. Most documentation comes from the ancient Greeks,

(01:09):
who primarily portrayed the Thracians as barbarians. They appear, for example,
several times in Homer's Iliad as allies of Troy. Later
in the tale, the Thracian king Rhesus makes an appearance.
In the fifth century b c. Write writers Herodotus, Thucydides,
and Xenophon described them as warriors and mercenaries in their accounts,

(01:32):
usually depicted in battle attire. The Thracians also are believed
to appear on Athenian made red figure ceramics. Several relatively
recent archaeological discoveries have greatly expanded what is known about
the Thracians. Their monumental city of Suthopolis was uncovered in
nineteen forty eight during the construction of a reservoir near

(01:53):
the town of Kazanlach in central Bulgaria. Built between three
two five and three one, the fortified city served as
the capital of the Odrysian Kingdom of Thrace and was
the personal residence of King Suthis. It proved the Thracians
did in fact establish lasting political organizations. Additional stunning fines

(02:19):
were uncovered between nineteen forty eight and nineteen eighty five.
These different hordes of silver and gold objects were named
for the areas where they were found. They date back
mainly to the Classical period fifth to fourth centuries b
C and to the beginning of the Hellenistic period third
century BC, although some date from both earlier and later periods.

(02:40):
One of the most recent discoveries came in two thousand four.
Archaeologists excavating the Svititsana burial mound in Schipka, central Bulgaria
uncovered a solid gold funerary mask weighing over a pound
and a half. They also found bronze armor, weapons, silverware,
and Greek sramic from the fifth century BC. Aside from

(03:02):
the immense monetary value of the objects, these discoveries provided
ground bak breaking insights into Thracian society. Thracians enjoyed a
fairly advanced culture, noted for its exquisite artisans, a rich
heritage of myths and beliefs, and a developed economy based
on crafts, agriculture, and trade. In nineteen forty nine, three

(03:25):
brothers digging for clay to make bricks at a tile
factory near the city of Panajerishta in northern a southern Bulgaria,
unearthed nine perfectly preserved solid gold containers weighing over thirteen
pounds in total, they had accidentally discovered what would become
known as the Panajerishta. Treasure. Pieces included a double handled anphra,

(03:50):
three small jugs for wine with disc shaped mouths called ulpas,
a shala bowl probably used to make libations for the divinities,
called a fiale, and four ceremonial drinking vessels shaped like
animal horns called rytons. Zoomorphic or mythological motifs typical of
the Greek figurative repertoire, including Dionysius of Paolo and Artemis,

(04:14):
decorate the pieces. There thought to have been a table
service for a ceremonial symposium. The vessels date from the
end of the fourth or beginning of the third century BC.
Some experts associate them with King Suthus the Third, who
served who lived at that time, although the evidence is
not conclusive. The only inscriptions visible on the vessels mentioned

(04:36):
the Greek polis of Lampsacus, located on the southern coast
of the Hellespontus, now known as Dardenell's. They suggest that
the pieces were cast in the workshops of that city. However,
it seems likely that the gold itself came from the
substantial gold deposits on Mount Pangaeon, located in the southern

(04:58):
Thracian territory near Biegean coast Bivoro Treasure. In nineteen seventy four,
while plowing near the town of Bavoro Berovo in central
North Bulgaria near the Danube, agricultural workers unearthed another Thracian treasure.
This horde consisted of five silver vessels with details applied

(05:19):
in gold, three rytons, an ovoid opa and a wide bowl.
Restoration work brought back the Borrovo treasures. Dazzling appearance and
decorations of grif Greek mythological iconography were revealed. Other traits, meanwhile,
showed the influence of the Great Eastern Empire of Archimedid Persia,

(05:42):
into which Darius, the first King of Persia between five
twenty two and forty eighty six BC, had re subjugated Thrace.
One inscription mentions the king Cortus the First, who lived
in the first half of the fourth century BC and
ruled the ancient threeistion Odrisian state. While the treasure may

(06:03):
have been his, it could also have been a diplomatic
gift presented to another leader Rogozan Treasure. In the winter
of nineteen eighty five, a local from the village of
Rogozin in northwestern Bulgaria was working in his orchard when
he came across the first piece of another huge collection
of Thracian treasure. The Rogozan Treasure is the largest of

(06:25):
the Thracian hordes found so far, and is one of
the largest in all of European antiquity. It consists of
one hundred and eight phili, forty five ole pays and
three goblets with embrasse embossed figurative decoration, mostly silver with
some gold additions. In total, the pieces weigh over forty
four pounds. It striking that the weight of some pieces

(06:49):
corresponds exactly to both Macedonian and Persian units of measure,
which suggests that the pieces could have been produced with
the intention of using them as payments in metal. There
are a notable variety of styles and designed evolution in
this hoard, suggesting the pieces were made and collected at
different times. The names of Thrician kings from various periods

(07:11):
are engraved on the vessels, which suggests the treasure was
added to during the fifth and fourth centuries b C.
Experts believe the collection could be the dynastic trousseau of
a wealthy family, accumulated by several generations over a hundred
fifty years or more. For some unknown reason, the treasure
was buried by its owners and never recovered. It stayed

(07:32):
safely stored under ground until its discovery at the end
of the last century. Other hordes have been discovered, including
the fourth century b C. Leu Covit Treasure nineteen fifty three,
whose silver objects include equestrian scenes such as two horsemen
chasing lions, perhaps representing the glorification of royal power. The

(07:53):
let Nitze Treasure nineteen sixty three included twenty two gold
and silver gilt appocades that decorate horse trappings. They were
adorned with scenes that depict the idea of a hero,
shedding light on the mythological beliefs of the ancient Thracians.
A fascinating aspect of the Thracian treasure hoardes is that,
unlike most of the other discoveries found in Bulgaria, they

(08:16):
are not related to one specific archaeological site. Specialists believe
they were deliberately hidden by the Thracians themselves in a
variety of locations far removed from settled site. Experts have
come up with various theories as to why this might be.
Some believe the vessels are ex votos offered by the
Thracians to gods or spirits associated with the earth or

(08:38):
the underworld. There are several examples in antiquity of this
being done after a ritual, perhaps a symposium. Other researchers
suggest the pieces were buried in an attempt to keep
them safe from an unknown threat from local thieves to
outside invaders. There are many examples from other cultures of
bearing valuables to protect them, perhaps the most plausible explanation

(09:02):
given the great worth of the pieces, mysterious makers. Clearly
skillful metallurgists crafted the Thracian treasures, the question remains, who
were they. The iconography of the Thracian treasures closely resembles
that of classical Greek art. It's likely the creators of
these pieces was inspired by Hellenic fireclay methods. Other influences,

(09:27):
for example, Persian, are present in the fine craftsmanship. The
depiction of animals is similar to that of the nomadic
steppe people of the Scythians and a blend of Near
Eastern and Egyptian features similar to those found in Phrygian
art from Western Anatolia is also evident. So did the
Thracians produce them or did someone else. There is evidence

(09:48):
that local metallurgical traditions existed in Thrace from at least
the Copper Age, but the style of that work is
different from that of the treasures. Some experts believe the
treasures must have been imported from Greece, Persia, or elsewhere.
Others argue they were locally produced, but based on foreign
models destined to provide the Thracian kings with prestigious goods

(10:10):
in keeping with the fashion of the time. Whatever the
truth is, the existence of these treasures demonstrates that Thracian
society was far more complex than ancient Greek sources suggest
mingling ancient treasures, the Thracians left behind almost no written texts,
and the inscriptions that have been found are impossible to read,

(10:30):
as the Thracian language has not yet been deciphered. Instead,
the images that decorate their hidden treasures and their grave
goods give the best clues to their culture. These images
indicate that at least from classical times, syncretism was occurring
between Thracian and Hellenistic traditions. For example, the physiognomy of
some Greek gods and heroes, such as Dionysus and Heracles,

(10:53):
is evident in the representations of some Thracian divinities. The Thracians, however,
were not passive recipients of Helenek Helenek culture. They exported
their divinities too, such as Bendis, a goddess of the hunt,
who was worshiped in Attica and assimilated with the Greek
goddess Artemis local spin on Greek traditions. The male social

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gatherings known as symposia became popular wherever the Greeks settled.
The Etruscans, Iberians, Romans, and Thracians who came into contact
with Greek colonies tended to adopt the tableware used at symposia,
the large crater from mixing wine with water, the jugs
for serving it, and vessels for drinking it. This tableware, however,
often was adapted to local preferences. The crater, for example,

(11:39):
was used in some cultures as an urn in which
to deposit the ashes of the deceased, something unthinkable for
the Hellenes. Thracian Kingdom. The Thracian tribe settled in a
territory that stretched along the shores of the Black Sea,
the Sea of Marmara, and the Aegean. In the fifth
and fourth centuries BC, the Odrysians establish a vast kingdom

(12:01):
that lasted until the rule of Alexander the Great, while
numerous Greek colonies prospered on the coast. Four ninety BC,
after the Persians withdraw the Odrisian king terries, the first
unites the Thracian tribes living between the Danube River and
the Rhodope Mountains three twenty five to three fifteen BC. Suthis,

(12:22):
the third king of the Odrisians, builds a city called
Southopolis and makes it his capital, the only known Thracian capital.
Its ruins are now beneath a reservoir. Eight forty six.
After the Roman emperor Claudius and his army conquered Thrace
in eighty forty six, the entirety of the Athracian territory

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becomes a new Roman province. Next jewel of teenach Tetlan
Templo mayor by Isabel Bueno, rising over the Aztec capital
was once an imposing pyramid dedicated to two gods, Plata
and Zakopochli. Uncovered in nineteen seventy eight, The remains of

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Templo Mayor have revealed the shocking rituals used to appease them.
For centuries, archaeologists searched in vain for Templo Mayor, which
they knew existed somewhere beneath modern day Mexico City, once
rising some one hundred sixty feet above the Aztec or Mexica,
as the Aztec referred to themselves, ceremonial center of Tinachtetlan,

(13:26):
the ancient campel of the Aztec Empire. The pyramid served
as the religious focal point and some say the center
of the Aztec universe. But then Hernan Cortes, head of
a joint force of Spanish troops and hundreds of thousands
of indigenous allies, conquered the city in fifteen twenty one,
badly damaging the pyramid. Over time, it gradually disappeared. Maps

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and chronicles indicated that Templo Mayor lay beneath Mexico city
Metropolitan Cathedral. Once in a while, when work was carried
out in the city's subsoil, objects related to Templo Mayor
would appear. In seventeen ninety, a large statue of the
goddess Kotli Kue and a twenty four ton monolith called
the Sunstone or Aztec Calendar were found. In nineteen fourteen,

(14:11):
an archaeologists unearthed more remains that he linked to Templo Mayor.
A breakthrough came in nineteen seventy eight when, in the
course of some underground cabling work, electricity company workers made
the chance discovery of an eleven foot wide monolith depicting
Coyote bloch Siqui. In Aztec mythology, she is the goddess

(14:33):
of the Moon and sister of Huitzakopochli, the sun, to
whom the Templo Mayor was dedicated. Shockingly, the goddess was
portrayed as decapitated and dismembered. Archaeologists were riveted by the
fine and wadded to know more. An excavation team, overseen
by archaeologists Eduardo Matos Motezuma, was immediately launched. What emerged

(14:57):
from these diggings was the Templo Mayor, huge temple pyramid
that had served as the sacred center of the Aztec Empire,
writes archaeologist Michael E. Smith in the Aztecs. Over the
past forty five years. The team's painstaking work has brought
to light some of the most breathtaking Aztec artifacts ever found,
and with them came startling insights into major aspects of

(15:20):
Aztec religion, life, and society. The original Templa Mayor was
a simple thatched shrine built during the reign of its
coolto fourteen twenty seven to fourteen forty. Subsequent leaders ordered
its enlargement to commemorate their military victories or sometimes as
the result of flooding or other environmental problems. Excavations have

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confirmed at least seven expansions. It may be surprising that
they preferred to enlarge the old temple instead of building
a new one, but there is a reason that has
to do with the special significance of the site itself.
According to myth, the god Huitzelapochili led the Aztec or
Mexico on their march from the mythical homeland of Atslan

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to Lake Texcoco. There he showed the priests a small
island where an eagle was perched on a nopal cactus
called Tenochtli in Nahuatl, the language of the Mexico. The
land was little more than a swamp, but these hardy
new inhabitants, almost totally uncultured, yet possessing an indomitable will.

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According to renowned scholar Miguel Leon Portilla, founded tinach Lican
and built there the embryo of the Templo Mayor. It
took the labor of thousands of people over many years
to construct this magnificent temple. The workers included not only
the city's inhabitants, but also laborers from other towns that
were dominated by the Aztec. These subjects were forced to

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work on government projects as part of their tribute to
the empire. The Aztec also required them to provide building materials.
Refusal to collaborate could trigger a war, with the resulting
taking and sacrificing of Templo Mayor of Tinatchilkan thus became
a demonstration of the power of the Aztec rulers over

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the surrounding peoples. No doubt, the site was magnificent. Templo
Mayor hue te Kali in Nahuatl stood in the eastern
part of the ceremonial center of tinach Likan. There were
seventy eight buildings in this area, including temples, priestly residences, altars,
a ballgame court, and sam Panthis racks on which human

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skulls were displayed. At its peak, Templo Mayor's final iteration
was a truncated pyramid resting on a four tiered platform.
Twin staircases access to smaller temples atop the pyramid, each
dedicated to the city's main gods, Tlacloch and Huizepoltli. The
Koyakhotskuima monolith was found at the base of the stairs

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leading to the latter temple. Templo Mayor was built symbolically
represent Quatapec, the sacred mountain where the sun god Huitzilopochepli
was born. The Aztec considered it to be the center
of the world, from which the four axes that mark
the courses of the universe embarked. The Templo Mayor was

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thus the point of intersection through which cosmic energy flowed,
enabling communication between gods and men. The sacred mountain is
as important as the Cross in Christianity, says harbored historian
of religions David Carrasco. Its pyramidal structure represented the three
levels of the Aztec world view. The square platform on

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which the temple stood was the horizontal plane, where all
living beings existed, while the pyramid represented the celestial level
and below it was the underworld. Templo Mayora was a
tangible display of life and death, beginning and end. Even
the two temples that crowned it reflected this symbolism. Plalak,
as an aquatic divinity, represented life and substance for agricultural

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people such as the Aztec, while Hitzlo Pochali was the
god of war and death, sunset and sunrise. The temple
also commemorated the victory of Huitzlopochli over his innumerable brothers, who,
according to the myth, had conspired against him and paid
for it with their lives. His sister Coatsoiqui, also rebelled,

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and whitz Lapochali killed her by throwing her from the
summit of Mount Koatapec. A monolith representing the goddess's death
was placed at the foot of the staircase leading to
Templo Mayor. As the most important temple, Templo Mayor hosted
the main ceremonies of Aztec society, from the coronations of
new monarchs to varied rituals relating to agriculture, reign, and

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the proper functioning of the heavenly bodies. The ceremonies were
spread throughout the ritual calendar according to the importance of
the divinity in the Aztec pantheon. Many of the human
sacrifices took place as parts of these monthly celebrations. Smith
writes each year, hundreds or perhaps thousands of victims had
their chests cut open and their still beating hearts ripped

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out by knife wielding priests as throngs of spectators looked on.
The most solemn events were reserved for the most important god,
whiz Lapochli. In these days, people were executed on a
stone in front of hit La Postle's temple. Their hearts
were then placed on a beautiful polychrome chap mul, a
reclining figure sculpted in stone in front of the temple

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of Tlalac. The Aztec believed human sacrifices were necessary in
their religious rituals to placate the Sun God. Through these sacrifices,
they repeated the deaths of the gods who sacrificed themselves
in the sacred hearth of Teo Ti Hua Khan, so
that men could live, feeding the movement of the sun
with their blood. They believed the sacred deaths ensured the

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continuity of life on earth, while reminding those who opposed
the Aztec that they could die and the bloody altar
of the Templo mayor. Most victims were enemy warriors captured
in battle. Smith writes the captor sponsored the sacrivice, thereby
gaining prestige. One of the most eagerly awaited Aztec festivals

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was Pantkotsarlitsi, the Raising of Banners, which was celebrated in December,
close to the winter solstice. As dawn broke, a runner
carrying an image of hutz Lapocheli made of baked dough
sprinted down from the top of the temple and ran away,
pursued by the crowd. He first took the god to
the ballgame court, where four victims were sacrificed to him

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and he received their hearts as an offering. The runner
then continued the frantic chase through some riverside towns, followed
by the faithful, who struggled to catch up with him.
The reason he ran had to do with the fact
that huitz Lapocheli was never defeated. The entire route was
adorned with large triumphal arches of roses, fron Japani and flags.

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At each arch, musicians played drums in cunk shells to
announce the passing of the procession. When the idol returned
to Tinochlik Khan along the Itza Parapa road, all the
temple's dignitaries went out to welcome it with music and dances.
Before going up the temple steps, the image was shown
to those kept next to the skull fence who were

(22:23):
waiting their turn to be sacrificed. At the foot of
the temples steps, the idol's image was placed on a
platform and hoisted reverently to the top with thick ropes.
Four priests held down the feet and hands of those
who were to die, another held their throat, and the
sixth opened their chest and extracted their heart. The priest's
bodies were painted black and their hair was tied, with

(22:44):
leather bands around their heads and little paper rings on
their foreheads. After the ceremony, the image of the god
was blessed and divided among the attendees to be eaten.
Another important dastek festival was the one dedicated to the
goddess Toucci, part of Quat s Licou, Mother of the
Gods and Heart of the Earth, which was celebrated in
the temple of Mayor on September sixteenth. In this ceremony,

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a woman of forty to forty five years of age
was offered to the goddess. They first purified her and
washed her and named her after the divinity. Before dawn
on the feast day, the sanctified woman was taken outside
and a man carried her on his back face up
to the top of the temple. There a priest held
her by the hair and slit her throat, bathing the

(23:29):
one who held her in blood. As soon as she
was dead, she was skinned from her thighs to her elbows,
and the skin was used to dress the man who
had carried her up, who again represented the Goddess. He
then watched a performance of a battle between young men
dressed for war, in which many were badly wounded. Once
the combat was over, the sacrifices in hotter of the

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Goddess continued. For this purpose, Wooden steps were built at
the top of the temple, which the two priest executioners
climbed up. The man covered with the skin of the
first victim would be forced up, held in case he resisted,
and then pushed down the stairs. His throat was then
slit and his blood was collected in a bowl in
the same way they sacrificed all the victims dedicated to

(24:11):
this goddess. The blood of the sacrificial victims was placed
in a basin, wrapped in multi colored feathers, and set
before the Mother of the gods. On November eighth, fifteen nineteen,
the Spanish conqueror Hernan Cortes and his men set foot
and tinach litiplan for the first time. Astonished by the

(24:31):
city's finally planned grandeur, they spared no praise in describing it,
but it's the imposing Templo Mayor that caught their eye.
Cortes himself noted in his second letter of Relation that
in spite of the large number of number of temples
in the city, there is one, the main one, whose
greatness and features no human tongue can describe. During the

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subsequent siege of Tenatlican, Templo Mayora was badly damaged by
the cannon the Spanish used to subdue the se After
the fall of the Aztec capital, the building was not
immediately demolished. Sources confirm it was still standing as late
as fifteen twenty four. With the passage of time, all
traces of the ancient Aztec place of worship disappeared. Workers

(25:14):
of the new Mexico City used materials from pre existing buildings,
so little by little, the stones from temples and other
buildings in the ancient Aztec ceremonial center, including Templo Mayor,
were taken and used to build sixty eight churches within
the former boundaries of Tenochtitlan and talat Loco. They were

(25:35):
also used in the countless houses and structures erected in
the city center. Since nineteen seventy eight, archeological excavations of
the ancient temple have revealed more and more of the
grandeur that was Templo Mayor. They've found palace rooms built
in baths, the House of the Eagles, the meeting place
of the military elite, a school for priests, and sculptures

(25:56):
of snakes and serpents. As excavation work continued, use a
big mystery remains. Historical records state that the remains of
three Aztec kings were cremated and their ashes buried at
the foot of Templo Mayor, and yet no emperor's remains
have been found. Chief archaeologists Leonardo Lopez Luchhan believes their
discoveries will point to Ahwitsotl's burial place. We are persuaded

(26:21):
that sooner or later will find his tomb, he says.
We're digging deeper and deeper. If and when they do
succeed in finding the tomb, it will be the culmination
of decades of work that have shed light on one
of the world's most legendary and misunderstood empires divine offerings.
In two thousand and six, a huge monolith dedicated to
the earth goddess Tlatzla Kutli was discovered in front of

(26:43):
Templo Mayor. Underneath was a shaft with numerous offerings inside,
perhaps because the whale was seen as a gateway to
the Earth's center, Some believe it may even be a tomb,
although conclusive evidence has not yet been found. The layers
of Templa Mayor Temple Mayora was expanded to its largest
around fifteen hundred, when the Aztec Empire was at its height.

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Rulers would sometimes renovate the sacred complex to commemorate victories.
Work also was carried out because of floods and the
instability of the ground beneath the foundation. Ever since temple
Mayor's identification in nineteen seventy eight, archaeologists have thrilled at
peeling back successive layers to find the earliest phases at
its heart. The Pyramid of Tenochtylclon was almost constantly under

(27:30):
renovation from its initial construction in the fourteenth century to
its destruction in the sixteenth century. Early expansions were begun
under the first three rulers of Tenatlacan, the Aztec ruse
to become the region's dominant power under its cotal, who
greatly enlarged the structure during his reign. His successor, Montezuma

(27:52):
fourteen forty to fourteen sixty nine, continued expanding the temple.
This concludes readings from National Geograph Bok History Magazine for today.
Your reader has been marshall. Thank you for listening, Keep
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