Statue Head of Goddess Tyche Discovered in Bulgaria

A remarkably crafted head of a large  statue of the Greek goddess Tyche was recently unearthed during the excavations of the  Bishop’s Basilica in Plovdiv, the present-day city situated where the ancient Philippopolis.

Archaeologist Lyubomir Merdzhanov, who led the excavation team, is hailing this stunning artifact as a “phenomenal find”.

Plovdiv is not only one of the most ancient cities on the territory of Bulgaria but also in Europe. The name of the ancient Thracian city from which Plovdiv today is derived was most likely Eumolpia.

The Iron Age saw the development of the fortified Thracian city on the Nebet Tepe territory. Philip II incorporated it into the Macedonian Empire in the fourth century BC and gave it the most well-known name, Philippopolis.

Tyche was considered the Goddess of Success, fortune, luck, and prosperity. Greeks believed that she had the power to determine the fortune of people and cities

The intricately crafted head dates from the late 1st to the mid-3rd century AD. The head (and presumably, the whole statue) was made according to Hellenistic tradition, of high-quality marble, with the irises shaped like hearts.

Tyche’s function as the guardian of Philippopolis is symbolized by the corona muralis, or mural crown, which is used to depict city walls with turrets. Based on the head’s proportions, the artifact is thought to have been a part of a statue that was about 2.5 meters tall.

According to archaeologists, the statue might have been part of a sanctuary that existed before the Christian basilica.

The fact that churches were frequently erected over pagan temples by early Christian communities raises the possibility that the location contains more historically significant artifacts.

The discovery is therefore important not only for its artistic value but also for the insight it provides into the religious and cultural history of ancient Philippopolis.

The head of Greek goddess Tyche statue was found near the basilica’s pulpit. The head may have been reused as building material or strategically placed for symbolic purposes.

 “The position of the artifact could carry deeper meaning, possibly indicating the coexistence of pagan and Christian traditions,” Merdzhanov explained.

The artifact is expected to be displayed at the Plovdiv Archaeological Museum after thorough study and restoration.

The excavation team hopes to obtain permission to lift the basilica’s mosaics to investigate the underlying sanctuary and potentially locate the remaining statue fragments, with the goal of reconstructing this ancient wonder.

Unique Gold Artefacts of Thracian Horseman Found in Bulgaria

The Topolovgrad Municipality posted on its Facebook page on Wednesday that during excavations at the site of a Thracian warrior’s tomb in the Topolovgrad village of Kapitan Petko Voyvoda, valuable and unique archaeological artifacts, including gold jewelry, were found.

Among them are as well as numerous weapons, a breastplate, a gold necklace, a gold diadem, a gold ring, a knife decorated with gold elements, and semi-precious stones. A horse was also found buried next to the human body, indicating that the warrior must have been a horseman from a rich family.

The archaeologists, led by Daniela Agre, say some of the finds are unparalleled among those ever discovered in Bulgaria. The findings are valuable not only for Bulgaria, but also for Europe.

On the second day of excavations, the team found the tomb of a Thracian warrior from the Roman troops from the early 1st century AD and unique artifacts.

‘The tomb contains all the battle equipment of this warrior. There is a very interesting braided breastplate, which was very rare in Roman times.

An unusual hunting knife with a handle decorated with precious stones, with motifs that we have not come across in Thrace since that period, has a gold necklace that is unique in our country at this stage,” said Daniela Agre.

The handle of the hunting knife was decorated with precious stones and one of the gold bands depicted hunting dogs.

We will be able to see the gold ornaments in their full glory by the end of the week when they will be moved to the museum in Topolovgrad, where a special room is already being built to protect them and meet all the requirements. Until then, however, the site will be guarded around the clock by the police.

Thracian warriors were the most famous light infantry soldiers in the classical world. They were known as Thracian peltasts because of the peltast shields they carried. The pelta was crescent-shaped, made of wicker covered with goat or sheepskin, and carried by a central handgrip.

The Thracian peltasts had a much bigger panoply, including knives (to defend themselves because these light troops were very vulnerable in close fight) as well as swords or spears of various kinds, thus opening to them a great diversity of formations of fight.

From the Fourth Century BC onwards, peltasts became an integral part of Greek armies, and Thracians formed part of the army that Alexander took into Asia, where, at the Battle of the Jhelum in 326 BC.

Roman-Era Sarcophagus Discovered on Varna Beach one of Bulgaria’s Most Popular Tourist Destinations

An ancient sarcophagus from the Roman era was discovered by chance on the beach near the resort of Saints Constantine and Helena, one of Bulgaria’s most popular tourist destinations.

Sts. Constantine and Helena Resort is the first officially recognized Black Sea resort and is situated 8 km north of Varna city amidst an area of remarkably splendid natural beauty.

Ancient Varna became a Thracian settlement and later an Ancient Greek colony, and then part of the Roman Empire in 15 AD. The Roman baths or thermae in Varna were constructed in the late 2nd century and used until the late 3rd century.

A former policeman on holiday in the area noticed the sarcophagus and reported it to the Fifth Regional Department-Varna. The unattended artifact was located near a newly built but still non-operational complex.

The find was reported to the local authorities, leading to a swift response by the Varna Archaeological Museum and the regional office of the Culture Ministry Directorate for the Protection of Cultural Heritage, who are now examining it.

According to Bulgarian National Television, after a preliminary examination by a police patrol, archaeologists, the Varna Archaeological Museum, and a local representative of the Culture Ministry Directorate for the Protection of Cultural Heritage, it was determined that it most likely belonged to the Roman era, specifically the second or third century AD.

Measuring approximately 90 x 235 x 75 cm (3 x 7.7 x 2.5 feet), the sarcophagus is adorned with elaborate relief decorations. These include garlands, leaves, grapes, animal heads, rosettes, labris (double-edged ax), and other stylized ornaments, characteristic of Roman funerary art.

According to the Bulgarian media outlet “24 Hours,” the sarcophagus may have been intended for use as a table, as it was found with a modern marble lid featuring three niches.

Experts suspect it was cut to fit the top, and it had been painted with facade paint, which is now being cleaned, according to Milen Marinov, a restorer at the historical museum in  Varna.

Marinov said of the ongoing examination: “We want to see what is under it, whether any of the original coloring has remained, what technique was used to make it – all of the information that will tell us if the sarcophagus is authentic. We have just started, we can’t say anything for sure.”

The investigation aims to determine whether the sarcophagus is an authentic Roman relic, a modified original, or a contemporary creation meant to resemble an antique.

Marinov emphasized the difficulties in making such evaluations, pointing out that there are many ways to age objects artificially so that they appear older than they are. This thorough analysis is crucial in verifying the sarcophagus’s authenticity and historical value.

With the help of the staff of the Regional Department for Fire Safety and Civil Protection and heavy equipment, the artifact was transported to the Archaeological Museum in Varna for storage, where expert examinations are to be carried out.

Archaeologists discovered floor mosaics with early Christian designs in Roman town of Marcianopolis, in Bulgaria

Archaeologists discovered floor mosaics with early Christian designs and nearly 800 artifacts in the archaeological reserve of Marcianopolis in Devnya, in the northeastern part of Bulgaria.

The Roman town of Marcianopolis (present-day Devnya) in northeastern Bulgaria appears to have originated as a Thracian settlement.

It was later inhabited by Hellenized settlers from Asia Minor and named Parthenopolis.

Roman Marcianopolis was established around 106 CE, following Trajan’s campaigns in Dacia to the north.

The settlement was named after his sister, Ulpia Marciana. At the crossroads between Odessos (modern Varna), Durostorum, and Nicopolis ad Istrum, as well as the location of plentiful springs, Marcianopolis became a strategically important settlement.

Diocletian’s administrative reforms in the late third century CE divided Moesia Inferior into Moesia Secunda and Scythia Minor, with Marcianopolis serving as the former’s administrative capital.

Marcianopolis experienced its most prosperous period during the middle of the fourth century CE. From 367 CE to 369 CE, the eastern emperor Valens used Marcianopolis as his winter quarters during campaigns against Visigoth incursions in the region. During this time, it served as the Eastern Empire’s temporary capital.

Floor mosaics with early Christian designs were found in the remains of a building. Archaeologists are not yet sure whether it was a public building or it belonged to a rich Roman citizen. 

The tentative dating of the mosaics is in the first half of the 4th century AD.

The finds from the current archaeological season in Devnya contain another thousand bronze coins, several clay lamps and two clay vessels, which are awaiting scientific processing and restoration.

During the past archeological season, researchers restored bronze vessels discovered in the 1990s in a brick-walled tomb dating to the late 2nd – early 3rd century.

The vessels had a ritual use and were related to the personality of the person buried, Mosaic Museum director Ivan Sutev said in a statement to BTA.

They are richly decorated and the workmanship is exquisite, he added. The find includes a vessel for pouring liquids as offering to a deity, and a wine jug with a trefoil mouth (oenochoe). A simple kitchen pan was also found along with these.

All this leads archaeologists to suggest that a Roman citizen of Marcianopolis may have been laid to rest in the tomb, but that he may have had more specific functions: a soldier, a cook, or even a priest, Sutev said.

Pottery that was discovered in the basilica’s environs during excavations in 2023 has since been restored. Among these are a mortarium vessel for liquids and an exquisite crater-shaped pot for liquids. These were located in the structure with the mosaic floors. Coins from the time of Emperor Theodosius II were also found scattered on the floor.

In 447, Attila’s Huns captured and destroyed Marcionopolis after conquering the entire Balkan Peninsula but failing to capture Constantinople. That is determined by 20 gold coins scattered on the floor of the building being studied.

On one side of the coins is an image of Theodosius II, while on the other is the patron goddess of Constantinople. Among the coins discovered during the Marcianopolis excavations were those from the city’s founding in the second century. The latter are dated to the sixth century, around the time of Emperor Justinian.

Ancient Roman ‘fridge’ unearthed with wine and animal bones still inside, photos show

While excavating an ancient Roman military camp in Bulgaria, archaeologists unearthed a rare — and relatable — find: a stocked refrigerator.

Archaeologists were excavating the ruins of Novae, a Roman-era military fortress, when they uncovered lead and ceramic water pipes, the University of Warsaw said in a Sept. 13 news release.

Next to the lead pipes, they found an ancient “fridge,” a food storage unit made with ceramic plates, lead archaeologist Piotr Dyczek said in the release. The fridge still had a meal inside, including wine drinking vessels, bowls and animal bones.

The exact age of the fridge and its contents have not yet been determined.

A similar fridge was found in Novae last October, McClatchy News reported. This cooling unit still had traces of cooked meat, animal bones and dish fragments inside.

“The discovery of such ‘refrigerators’ are rare, because they rarely survive reconstructions of buildings,” Dyczek said previously.

Novae was built for Roman troops in the first century A.D. as a permanent base on the lower Danube River. The camp housed Italian military recruits until the middle of the fifth century.

Excavations at Novae also uncovered ruins of a wooden barracks building linked to the camp’s first permanently-stationed Roman troops, the camp’s earliest known well and a furnace from the fourth century, the release said.

Archaeologists also unearthed a rare set of wine drinking vessels with a black coloring and a small, silver pendant in the shape of a detailed mouse. Photos show these artifacts.

Novae is in the northern Bulgarian city of Svishtov, about 155 miles northeast of Sofia and along the Bulgaria-Romania border.

An ancient “fridge” has been uncovered at the Roman legionary fortress of Novae, Bulgaria

Polish archaeologists, during excavations at the Roman legionnaires’ camp in Novae, discovered a container that could be described as an ancient “fridge” made of ceramic plates for storing food.

The legionary fortress of Novae is an archaeological site on the Danube in northern Bulgaria, near the town of Svishtov. It was founded in the middle of the first century AD.

The 1st Italian legion was based here for most of its existence and its presence is confirmed until the 30s of the 5th century AD. In the area of ​​the camp, which covers 17.99 ha, monumental buildings have been discovered, the most important of which is the headquarters building (principia), although the legionary hospital (valetudinarium) and baths (thermae legionis) are equally impressive.

There was a civil settlement (canabae) on the west side of the camp, and a necropolis on the south and east side. In late antiquity, the fortifications of Novae were reinforced, and an additional area (the so-called annex) was attached to the camp from the east, covering an area of ​​approximately 8 ha.

At that time, both soldiers and civilians lived within the walls. Traces of the latest Roman activity date back to the end of the 6th century.

Researchers from Poland and Bulgaria have been excavating the fortress for several decades, with Professor Piotr Dyczek of the University of Warsaw currently in charge of the project.

During this season’s excavations, the team found a container made of ceramic plates recessed beneath the floor, which was used as a “fridge” by the fort’s inhabitants to store food. The container was discovered in a military barracks room.

Within the container, the team found pieces of ceramic vessels and small baked bone fragments, in addition to charcoal and a bowl which the team suggests, may have been a censor for driving away insects.

Professor Piotr Dyczek said that the discoveries of such “fridges” are rare.

Another find this year is a collection of several dozen coins. Most come from strata covering the period from the incursion of the Goths in the Middle Ages. From the 3rd century to the beginning of the reign of Constantine the Great (early 4th century).

Archaeologists have also unearthed entire strings of walls and the remains of a Roman dwelling containing querns. Wells, weaving and fishing weights, reels, and vessel fragments were discovered.

A Surprise Cave Finding Has Once Again Upended Our Story of Humans Leaving Africa

Last year, a genetic analysis of bone fragments representing our earliest known presence in Europe raised a few questions over the steps modern humans took to conquer every corner of the modern world.

Whoever the remains belonged to, their family background was more entwined with the East Asian populations of their day than with today’s Europeans, hinting at a far more convoluted migration for our species than previously thought.

Now, researchers from the Universities of Padova and Bologna in Italy have proposed what they think might be the simplest explanation for the unexpected kink in the family tree, based on what we can piece together from genetic relationships and subtle shifts in ancient technology around the world.

If we retrace our footsteps from modern times through the Stone Age and beyond, we’ll inevitably find a moment when a bunch of Homo sapiens took a pivotal step out of Africa onto what we now think of as Eurasian soil.

Earlier, more distant cousins had ventured out numerous times already, settling for a time before dying out. This time, it would all be different. This migration of modern humans stuck, eventually seeding a cultural revolution that would forever change our planet in just a few short millennia. While the outcome of this monumental journey is now obvious, the paths are taken and countless lost branches can only be pieced together from scant surviving artefacts and a legacy of genetic mingling.

The scattering of human bones and stone implements sifted from the sediment of Bacho Kiro Cave in central Bulgaria is just the kind of evidence archaeologists dream of. Uncovered in 2015, they have since been dated to around 45,000 years, officially making them the oldest Upper Paleolithic hominin bones ever found in Europe.

By taking archaeological records into account, we can tell they had descended from a larger community on a 15,000-year-long hiatus in their travels east. If we knew little else about them, we might conclude this person represents some kind of stepping stone between a future in Asia and a past set in Europe – a central hub on Africa’s doorstep from which we expanded and settled ever further abroad.

The genetic evidence preserved in three of those bodies, however, doesn’t match up quite so neatly with this simple scenario. Last year, research led by the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Germany concluded the individuals were “more closely related to present-day and ancient populations in East Asia and the Americas than to later west Eurasian populations.”

Finding closer familial ties with modern and ancient Asian populations than with modern European people introduces some challenging questions regarding the way this ancient hub of humanity might have branched into the east and west.

What’s more, a generous dose of Neanderthal blood had recently been introduced into their family tree, further muddying the waters on how our ancestors might have moved and interacted.

According to the authors of this newest study, one possibility considers the migration of humanity a stutter rather than a surge.

“Then, around 45 thousand years ago, a new expansion emanated from the hub and colonized a wide area spanning from Europe to East Asia and Oceania and is associated with a mode of producing stone tools known as Initial Upper Paleolithic,” says the University of Padua molecular anthropologist, Leonardo Vallini.

Those who branched into Asia thrived, traces of their bloodlines persisting to this day. But something happened in the west, something which saw a temporary end to the human experiment in Europe.

A second study conducted last year on female remains found in the Czechia provides a clue. While carbon dating is yet to confirm an age for her death, changes in her genes hinted at a date even further back than 45,000 years.

More importantly, the Paleolithic woman’s ancestry wasn’t closely related to either modern Europeans or Asians. Whatever happened to her and her kin, their story wasn’t an enduring one.

“It is curious to note that, around the same time, also the last Neanderthals went extinct,” says Giulia Marciani, an archaeologist from the University of Bologna.

It would have taken a fresh wave of human emigration from this central hub some 7,000 years later to repopulate the west and seed lineages that would go on to produce the rich array of cultures we see today.

Just where this temporary hub of humanity might be found and what prompted its populations to set off, again and again, is a matter for future archaeologists to figure out.

If we’ve learned nothing else, it’s clear we shouldn’t make too many assumptions when it comes to the story of how modern humanity made its way around the world.

This research was published in Genome Biology and Evolution.

Giant Human Skeleton unearthed in Varna, Bulgaria

Bulgarian archaeologists discovered giant skeleton remains located at the Black Sea Bay city known as Varna. In the first reports, they suggested that a man lived in the 4th to the 5th centuries and were quite impressed by the size of the bone found in the area.

Due to the size, they only concluded their report that they belonged to a very tall man. Chief Archeologists Valeri Yotov who is part of their team that carries out excavations has been reporting the local media.

On the discovery from the begging but lately has stopped to give any more details which might tell us they are on to something bigger as they skeleton was discovered in the area of the ancient city called Odesos.

Yotov in the past has suggested that the man has died during work and that they were he was buried with his hand laid on his waist and his body pointing to the east was a clear indication he had a ceremonial burial rite and was buried this way.

Reconstructions of the area are being carried out in Varna, which is Bulgarians 3rd largest city and usually called “The Black Sea capital”

The ancient tomb in which the skeletons was found was also discovered during the repair works in the centre of Varna while the repair team dug up the tomb unexpectedly.

Its approximate location has actually been known since the beginning of the 20 th century as told by the Bulgarian National Television report.

However back then it was just briefly explored but sealed away due to constructions, so exploration of this area now is a very interesting job for the local archaeological society.

Archaeologists in this excavation reported that the object, lying on Nezavisimost Square between the city theatre and the State Archive, was located beyond the walls of Odesos, the ancient city that was once situated where Varna is now.