Gagovo Tomb

The Gagovo Tomb is a Thracian mound in Popovo Municipality, Targovishte Province, named after the nearby village of Gagovo in the same municipality. This mound and tomb have been designated a cultural monument of national significance and are protected by the state. The Thracian burial mound stands approximately 1,200 metres north-northeast of Gagovo. The route to it follows the Gagovo–Opaka road, road 202, towards the River Cherni Lom and the hills above it. The mound belongs to a necropolis that also includes two other mounds to its north and northeast, within the lands of Opaka.

At a depth of about 4 metres measured from the highest point of the mound, workers discovered well-preserved parts of a burial chamber approximately 3.70 metres in diameter. Rescue archaeological investigations were carried out over the following three months, considerably clarifying the archaeological context, layout and architectural features of the structure, as well as its period and relative chronology. 

The initial investigations revealed the tomb to be a monumental architectural complex consisting of two circular domed burial chambers, 3.7 and 3.9 metres in diameter, a shared rectangular antechamber, a dromos or passage, and an additional room. The two circular chambers are connected through a shared entrance closed by a double-leaf stone door, and each has its own separate exit into the antechamber. The antechamber is connected to the burial chambers by a dromos. According to the archaeologists, these components were built simultaneously, forming a unified plan and architectural composition.

The tomb was destroyed at least six times during its existence. The masonry complex, including the circular chambers, suffered severely from looting and later use as a stone quarry. Nevertheless, the foundations, or parts of them, survive, conveying the building's monumental scale.

In autumn 2009, on the recommendation of the National Institute for the Protection of Immovable Cultural Assets and with funding from Popovo Municipality, a temporary protective shelter was built over the exposed ruins. The Gagovo Tomb is a cultural monument of national significance and provides important information about architecture and building techniques in Ancient Thrace. It was probably associated with a local Thracian ruler whose residence stood nearby. Archaeologists suggest that it may have served as the burial place of two prominent Thracians. The latest investigations reveal further details of the tomb's architecture and layout.