Photo of the Day 296

Thracian Tomb, Tarnovo, Bulgaria, 2006

Photograph by Kenneth Garrett

At the ancient cult complex of Mishkova Niva, a monumental wall of white marble, mined locally in the mountains of southeastern Bulgaria, circles the ruins of a Thracian tomb from the second or third century B.C.

Possibly as early as the second millennium B.C. a sanctuary took shape here, perhaps for the worship of a heroic tribal king. The site continued as a sacred place for centuries. It may have lost that status about the sixth century A.D., when Slavic invasions began to obliterate Thracian culture.

(Text adapted from and photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Bulgaria's Gold Rush," December 2006, National Geographic magazine)