Thracian mound and crosses near Zasele

North of the village, about 1 km away, are located two Thracian mounds, hidden at the foot of the Metereza hill, on which is situated an ancient fortress.

The mounds are not big in size and are densely overgrown with vegetation. They are located on both sides of a modern road leading to a private property. The mounds since ancient times are covered with a stone mantle of small, broken stones.

Probably the two mounds are part of a larger Thracian necropolis that had occupied the place on which is currently located the modern village.

According to the locals, two more mounds were destroyed in the time of building of the farm cooperative, where were found ceramic vessels and remnants of burials, as well as stone structures surrounding the graves. Another mound was destroyed during the construction of the road to the hamlet "Fakirovtsi."

Currently on the top of the larger mound there is a Christian vow marked by a large stone cross with equal arms. The local people probably tried to flatten the mound and to put tables and benches for ritual celebration. In course of those works were found more 10 more crosses. Because of their discovery, the "reconstruction works" were probably stopped and the crosses were arranged around the central tree.

Currently at the place can be seen all crosses (some of them in fragments), which are made of local sandstone and decorated with very simple but rich incised decoration. There are no inscriptions on the crosses, and the decoration is placed on one side only. By style of making and method of decoration, these crosses are very similar to those found in the center of the village of Zasele. Probably the crosses are gravestones, but the time they have been placed is difficult to be determined.

The mounds and the consecrated ground near Zasele are one of many extremely interesting examples in the Iskar Gorge, which show preservation and worship of a sacred place for more than 2,000 years. The Thracian necropolis dated back to the 5th - 4th c. BC continue to be used after the adoption of Christianity, and nowadays, the memory of this sacred place is marked with a cross, which is worshiped up to now.