The Lantern-Roofed Tombs in Thrace and Anatolia: Some Evidence ...

diagonal roofing was even described as ‘a “Galatian” corbeled roof system’ 5
or ‘voûte «galate»’ 6 . Actually, the lantern roofing was applied in the
Anatolian funerary architecture much earlier than the Karalar example and
was first attested in the Archaic tumular tomb at Belevi 7 , while many
scholars consider that this type of stone roof originated in timber
construction of Anatolian houses contemporary to the earliest monumental
tombs 8 . Therefore, any terminology bearing particular ethnic or strict
regional implications, such as ‘a “Galatian” corbel’, may not be correct
when referring to this technique.
Three approximately synchronous tombs with lantern roofing are known
in ancient Thrace so far. The first one was discovered in 1931 in Kurtkale
locality near Mezek. 9 The funerary monument is situated on the ground level
in the eastern part of a big tumulus and consists of façade, rectangular
lantern-roofed antechamber and beehive tholos burial chamber. The
Kurtkale tomb dates to the last decades of the 4th or first decades of the 3rd
century B.C. Another similar tomb was excavated in 1976 in Zhaba Mogila
tumulus, which is about 20 m in height and 80-90 m in diameter, and is
located near Strelcha. 10 The monument is situated in the southeastern
periphery of the mound on the ground level and consists of façade,
rectangular lantern-roofed antechamber and beehive tholos burial chamber.
It is dated to the last decades of the 4th century B.C. The third Thracian
tomb with lantern roofing was excavated in 1952 in a tumulus in Golemiya
Aigar locality near Plovdiv (ancient Philippopolis). 11 The monument is
situated on the level of the ancient terrain in the central part of the mound
and displays a ground-plan different from the previous funerary
constructions, consisting of façade, rectangular antechamber and rectangular
2