Category: Bulgaria

More From Debelt

~ David Meadows ~ rogueclassicist ~ Leave a comment

Last week we mentioned a find of some Roman burials which were found when a truck broke through the pavement near Debelt (ancient Dueltum): Roman Tombs from Debelt. Today we get a followup, with a slightly different version of the circumstances of discovery … from the Sofia Globe:

Golden medallions featuring inscriptions and images found in a gravesite dating to the Roman era in Debelt, a village in the region of Bourgas on Bulgaria’s Black Sea coast, have been identified by archaeologists as being from the second century CE.

According to archaeologists, the graves are those of veterans of the eighth legion of Augustus. They are in the western part of the ancient Roman colony of Deultum, according to a report on July 17 2012 by public broadcaster Bulgarian National Television.

Today the gravesite is next to a street in the latter-day village of Debelt. Deultum, in its time, was known as “Little Rome in Thrace”, the report said.

The find was made by accident while people were pouring concrete for construction. The vibration of the concrete mixer caused the surface to crack and a tomb was found.

Krasimira Kostova, director of the Archaeological Museum in Debelt, said that the find was of extremely high value. The valuable gifts were evidence that the people who lived there were of high status.

The finds included golden jewellery and a needle, beads and scrapers used by the ancient Romans for bathing and massage and in medicine as a means of inserting medication in the ears and throat, the report said. All of these were signs of urban life in what was then an important place in the Roman empire.

An inter-ministerial committee will decide what will become of the site. According to the report, Debelt archaeological reserve is the only one in Bulgaria to have “European archaeological heritage” status.

And just to add my own followup, we have heard of finds in the region of Bourgas before, and I speculated (if it needs speculation; as often, it might just be left out of the Bulgarian coverage)  it might be the location of one of a string of forts established by Vespasian and the connection with the Legio VIII Augusta might support that. See Further Thoughts on that Bulgarian Site Near Bourgas. On the movements of the Legio VIII Augusta, see the informative article at Livius.org: Legio VIII Augusta

Roman Tombs from Debelt

~ David Meadows ~ rogueclassicist ~ Leave a comment

From the Sofia News Agency:

A truck carrying concrete for a construction site near Bulgaria’s Debelt has caused the precious discovery of two tombs dating from Roman times.

The news was announced Saturday by the Director of the National History Museum at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, BAS, Lyudmil Vagalinski.

The truck was on a dirt road near the main one between the Black Sea city of Burgas and Sredets, carrying concrete for the construction of a house. The road caved in under its weight and uncovered the marble plates of a Roman tomb, most likely dating from the 2nd-3rd century A.C.. Another tomb was discovered nearby in the aftermath.

The truck, however, cracked some of the marble, while treasure hunters, conducting their own research, have added to the problems archaeologists now face.

The area is currently sealed in expectation of a permit to start archeological digs. The authorities are also conducting a probe in the case.

“Debelt is one of the key archaeological sites in Bulgaria. This is a Roman city, a colony of the highest level, meaning it is a direct copy of the organization and planning of Ancient Rome. It has been founded in year 70 A.C. by retired Roman legionnaires,” Vagalinski explains.

There are 15 Roman colonies on the Balkans, 3 of them in Bulgaria, with Debelt being the earliest one.

I tend not to include photos of things in other sources, but this time I have to … ecce:

Sofia News Agency Photo

If you look at this, it is clear that the tombs aren’t really that deep and are directly under the highway. Indeed, I’m sure I’m not the only one who is thinking at this point that they must have found those tombs when they were building the road and just paved over them, no?

In any event, Debelt is the ancient Deultum.

Erotic Vase Find from Sozopol

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As often, something seems lost in translation in this one from Focus Fen:

A Greek painted vase with erotic scene on it was discovered during excavations in the Bulgarian coastal town of Sozopol. Professor Bozhidar Dimitrov, Director of the Bulgarian National Museum of History, announced the news exclusively for FOCUS News Agency.

One of the oldest Greek painted vases found on Bulgarian territory was discovered during excavations, which started in October 2011, at the fortified wall of Sozopol and the St Nicolas the Wonderworker Church in the beginning of the old town. It was discovered in the lowest layers, remains of Sozopol’s history of the end of the VII and the middle of the VI centuries Before Christ.

“There is a strong erotic scene on the vase, which unfortunately was discovered in several fragments. There are several naked young boys and girls, having sex in some untraditional way. Such a scene is found for the first time on the territory of our country,” Dimitrov said.

“The scene is a rarity, we have thousands of vases found here, but this is the first one with such a scene on it. We have seen similar items in Greece. The Ancient Greeks used to consider sex a free gift from the Gods; it is for the Christian Church to be the first to start labelling what is right and what is wrong in the sex. It imposes restrictions, allowing only one position between the man and the woman and it is not by chance that this position is called ‘monastic’. For good or evil, the Ancient Greeks did not think this way,” Dimitrov commented further.

Lacking a photo, I guess we’ll have to let our imaginations run wild with the “untraditional way” phrase. I recall a similar phrase in a translation of Herodotus … if I get some time I’ll try to track it down …

ADDENDUM (the next day): The coverage from the Sofia Echo is rather more clear and includes some other information, to wit:

[…] Archaeologist Dimitar Nedev told Focus that there were such erotic scenes in finds from ancient Greece, but none so large, expressive and done by such a good artist.

According to a preliminary analysis of the style, the painting was made by one of the prominent artists in Apollonia – the Artist of the Running Satyr.

The painting is comprised of seven figures; the scene is erotic, with good style, expressive and very “spicy”, Nedev was quoted as saying.

He said that the find would widen the knowledge of the region, its trade contacts, and the aesthetic and artistic criteria of ancient Hellenes and Thracians who used to live in this region.

Latest from Peperikon

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The last bits from a piece at Novinite:

The latest Perperikon finds presented Tuesday include a human idol from the 5th century BC, a bronze axe and a Thracian war knife. The archeologist explained that during the first day of the excavations they also found a medical instrument from Roman times, which has been used to remove from skin a worm-parasite and then clean the wound.

Other unique discoveries include a Roman lamp from the 3rd century with the picture of a scarcely clad female dancer waiving a scarf above her head, a number of antique coins, a silver coin with Tsar Ivan Alexander and his son Mihail, and a medieval silver tiara. The finds are very important because they are not very typical for this area and are proof for Bulgarian presence here in 1343, according to Ovcharov.

The archeologist informed that this summer the digs are subsidized with BGN 118 000 which will allow for 3-month work and a team of over 100. In addition to the connection between the palace and the Perperikon Acropolis, the archeologists will study for the first time the northeastern sector of the Acropolis with the full study of the latter being the final goal.

Ovcharov declared the excavations and the research show Perperikon is the largest ancient city in the Rhodope Mountains and one of the largest on the Balkans during the Antiquity and the Middle Age, much larger than the Bulgarian historical coastal towns of Sozopol and Nesebar.

The first few paragraphs are a response to claims of ‘relationships’ between archaeologists and treasure hunters in Bulgaria.

Odrysian Site from Bulgaria

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OdrysianKingdom1
Image via Wikipedia

Ivan Hristov is characterizing this as a ‘Bulgarian Machu Picchu’ … interesting how they get a dig in at Philip II in this one:

Bulgarian rchaeologists have uncovered a unique residence of the rulers of the Odrysian Kingdom, the state of the most powerful tribe of Ancient Thrace.

The residence is located on the Kozi Gramadi mount in the Sredna Gora mountain, close to the resort town of Hissar in central Bulgaria, at about 1 200 m above sea level.

“The residence of the Odrysian kings is a monument unrivaled in scope in Southeastern Europe. I am convinced there is no other fortress-sanctuary dating back to the 4th-5th century BC which is so well-preserved,” said Dr. Ivan Hristov, head of the archaeological team and Deputy Director of the Bulgarian National History Museum.

The Bulgarian archaeologists call the Thracian fortress “the Bulgarian Machu Picchu” because of the similarities in the organization of the two ancient cities.

The construction of the residence near Hissar is believed to have been started by the Thracian ruler Cotys I (384 BC – 359 BC)

The team led by Dr. Hristov has uncovered the remains of the palace of the Odrysian kings Amatokos II (359 BC – 351 BC) and Teres II (351 BC – 342 BC).

The latter is the last Thracian king who fought Philip II of Macedon (359 BC – 336 BC).

“Philip II of Macedon most likely also visited this fortress. It is about him that Demosthenes says that he spent 11 nightmarish months in the winter of 342 BC fighting the Thracians who inhabited the mountains,” explained Dr. Hristov.

The fortress-residence of the Thracian kings is located on a plot of 4 decares, not far from the village of Starosel, which is the site of the largest tombs of Ancient Thracian rulers.

The researchers believe that the connection between the newly-uncovered fortress and the Starosel tombs is clear.

“This is the holy mountain in the mind of the Thracians. We have various archaeological objects located on different levels – a fortress, a sanctuary, an altar of sacrifice. Therefore, the comparison with the ancient city of the Incas Machu Picchu is a good one,” said Dr. Hristov.

His team has already excavated two of the towers of the citadel, whose remains are about 2 m high.

The archaeologists’ guess is that the treasure of the Odrysian kingdom was also located in the newly uncovered residence but Philip II of Macedon most likely stole the gold kept there.

The Odrysian Kingdom was a union of Thracian tribes that existed between 5th and the 3rd century BC. The last Thracian states were conquered by Romans in 46 AD. The most famous Thracian in human history is Spartacus, the man who led a rebellion of gladiators against Rome in 73-71 BC.

UPDATE (a few minutes later): discussion on the Classics list suggests this isn’t a recent discovery; the site was actually found back in 2005; we don’t seem to have covered it but it seems connected with the Starosel tomb which has received quite a bit of coverage because of that gold mask found thereabouts, e.g.: