7th-early 6th-century bronxe metalwork. Above: Openwork belt clasp from Ferigile. Below: Agathyrsi quiver ornament from Chotin. The impetus derived from migrating East Thracians is reflected in the distinctive forest-steppe quiver ornament found in Agathyrsi cemeteries at Chotin and the Birsesti group. The openwork belt clasps in the Sava valley, north-west Bulgaria and Oltenia are Illyrian-influenced.

Bronze bridle frontlet from Sofronievo. L. 8.5 cm; Ht 3.5 cm. Besides the horned animal, sun symbols include a triskele, circles round central dots and a Girla Mare derivation of the Otomani flame motif.

The larger of the two Razlog slabs, 1.60 m high, is carved with a field of intricately linked spirals above an ithyphallic figure, a triskele, volutes and a 'sun-boat'. On the smaller slab, in the shape of a right-angled triangle and 1.2m in high, a whirling sun-disc is carved above a spiral pattern repeated on the left of the larger.

Thracian influence on Celtic art. Above left: Bronze linchpin from Niederweis, Rhineland. Above right; 1 Bronze ornament from Faardal, Jutland. 2 Detail of bronze belt-box decoration from Mecklenburg. 3 Fragment of bronze plaque from Hallstatt. 4 Detail from Gundestrup cauldron. The Otomani-Wietenberg legacy in central and western Europe included horned animal and flame motifs transformed into a Celtic idiom. Thracian influence, perhaps even workmanship, appears in the Gundestrup cauldron.

Chernoles bronze and clay vessels.

1 Bronze buckets from Zhabotin. Ht 36 cm.

2 High-handled dipper from Kanev district. Plain or with white-encrusted decoration, these are common in East Thracian settlements and cemeteries. Diam. of rim usually 7-12 cm.

Clay hearth altars in the Wietenberg tradition. Left: Zhabotin. Diam. approx. 1.30 m. Right: Bosut Gradina, detail.

Carpatho-Balkan connections with the Caucasus. 1 Detail of bronze belt, Tli. W. 10.5 cm. 2 Gold zoomorphic fibula, Mikhalkov hoard. L. 16.5 cm. 3-5 Bronze bucket, jug and pendant from Tli, Hts 17 cm, 12.7 cm and 14 cm. Zoomorphic fibulae in the Mikhalkov hoard have close analogies on a belt at Tli in the south Caucasus. A similar 'Kuban beast' ornaments a gold fibula from Dalj in the Voivodina. The type reappears on a c. 4th-century clay urn at Bolyarovo in the Thracian Plain. Bronze vessels also reflect contact, and there are antecedents in the Middle Dnieper culture for the Carpatho-Balkan spectacle fibula and Tli pendant forms.

The influence of Olbian metalwork. 1 Bronze handmirror from Olbia. 2 Electrum-plated bronze quiver ornament from Olbia. 3 Bronze quiver ornament from Opishlyanka. Olbian metalwork was soon copied by the increasingly skilled forest-steppe Thracians and carried westwards.

Above: Olbian bridle ornaments were also copied and disseminated. Left: Bronze tetraskele bridle ornament from Olbia. Centre: Silver tetraskele bridle ornament from Oguz. Right: Lead tetraskele applique from Magdalenska Gora. Excavations at Magdalenska Gora, Sticna and Toplica in Slovenia have shown that Thracian bridle ornaments were copied by Celts for dress appliques, with a central hole instead of the metal loop for a bridle strap.

Centre: East Thracian bridle ornaments of cast silver covered with gold leaf from the Homina Mogila. 1 Frontlet. L. 10.3 cm. Ht of lion 4 cm. 2 Bridle-strap ornaments, 8x8 cm. 3 Bridle-strap ornaments, 14x7 cm. 4 Arrangements of ornaments on the bridle.

Below. East Thracian metalwork from Oguz. 1 Fragment of silver-gilt plaque. Ht 12 cm. 2 Silver bridle-strap ornament, L. 7.2 cm. 3 Bridle frontlet depicting a bear cub. Max. W. 4.5 cm. 4 Bridle frontlet depicting a horsehead. Max. W. 4.5 cm; a similar frontlet was found in the Alexandropol burial.

Left: Gold helmet from Baiceni. Ht 35 cm.

Right: The Baiceni helmet cheekpiece, showing a Thracian feasting.

Gold helmet from Cotofenesti, detail showing forehead guard and cheekpiece.

Gold pectoral from Bashova Mogila, Douvanli. L. 13.8 cm; Wt 19.6 gr. 5th century. The portrayal of a lion is exceptional and may be a relic of Persian influence. Gold pectorals were always of local workmanship. In many wealthy burials during their 5th-4th-century vogue they were the only precious metal objects not imported. Attached to a garment below the neck they were worn by the dead, if inhumed, as when alive.

Gold pectorals of Thracian design.

Golyamata Mogila, Douvanli. L. 38.5 cm; Wt 86.8 gr. The larger of two pectorals is a cremation burial, its overall punched decoration is common. 5th century.

Voinitsite, near Chirpan. L. 13.5 cm; Wt 7.26 gr. Again an overall punched design, but with the ancient horns symbol and sun symbols, the latter represented by circles with a central point. 4th century. The smaller Golyamata Mogila pectoral has the sun symbolized by tangented round punched bosses.