Bulgarian archeologist Georgi Kitov, who became world famous with discoveries of treasure-filled Thracian tombs in Bulgaria, died Sunday at age 65, BTA state news agency reported.

Kitov's most famous discovery is a splendid Thracian sanctuary near the southern village of Starosel. The complex unearthed in 2000 dates back to the 5th century BC and is the largest of its kind in southeastern Europe.

Other key finds include a 0.6-kilogramme (1.3-pound) golden mask of a Thracian ruler and the jewellery-ladden tomb of Thracian king Seuthes III in the so-called Valley of the Thracian Kings, near the town of Shipka in central Bulgaria.

Ancient Thracians were skilled goldsmiths who inhabited lands across southwest Europe from the Carpathian mountains to the Caucasus region, and whose civilisation is still veiled in mystery.

Kitov's TEMP expedition also uncovered in 2001 a fresco-adorned Thracian tomb near the village of Alexandrovo in southern Bulgaria dating back to the 5th century BC.