Grand armoury of Roman Legion unveiled by AMU Archaeologists

 Image Credit : Andrzej Biernacki

The first traces of the monumental stone structure at the ancient site of a former Roman legionary camp in Novae, Bulgaria, was discovered by AMU archeologists a few years ago. Since then, Dr. Elena Klenina and Dr. Andrzej B. Biernacki have worked on the site of the former legionary camp belonging to the Roman soldiers of the First Italian Legion. Last year, they determined that it was an arsenal – armory. This year’s excavations made it possible to learn about the subsequent history of the area.

The structure built by the Roman soldiers was huge, it occupied about 1800 square meters. It was erected in the first half of the second century. Its base consisted of six monumental rectangular pillars arranged in two rows. They were made of precisely matched, hexagonal blocks of limestone. In the opinion of the researchers, it is the most monumental building, discovered in all known legion camps along the Danube River.

Credit : Andrzej Biernacki

Novae was an ancient greek city of Thrace among other cities of Moesias' province . At present we use the name of Novae (Nouae), although the toponym might have referred to the canabae (canabae legionis I Italicae Novae), when the castra itself had the name of castra legionis I Italicae. The literary sources give the name of Novae or in Accusative form Novas (Itin. Ant. 221, 4; Jord., Get., 101, Tab. Peut. VIII, 1; Not. Dign. Or. XL, 30, 31; Eugipp., 44, 4) and the Greek transcription – Nόβας given by Procopius (De aed. IV, 11), Theophanes Confessor (Chron., p. 423, 426, 436, ed. J. Classen) and Anonymous Ravennatis (IV, 7). The Greek form Nόβαι appears rather rare (Hierocl. Synecd. 636, 6; Theoph. Sim. VII, 2.16; VIII, 4.3-4); earlier form mentioned by Ptolemy is Nooῦαι (Ptol. III, 10.10).

Roman military presence in the Lower Danubian region started in the middle of the 1st century AD. Around AD 45 Legio VIII Augusta, which took part in the suppression of the Greek uprising, was placed here and founded its castrum. At the same time the province of Moesia was created.. 

MOESIA, Istros. 4th century BC. Drachm (Silver, 5.70 g 12), circa 350. Two facing male heads side by side, one upright and the other inverted - a tête-bêche pair. Rev. ΙΣΤΡΙΗ Sea eagle standing left on dolphin; below dolphin, monogram of ΑΠ

“At the end of the 4th century construction was rebuilt and then it also changed its function: instead of military installations, it started to store grain and other food necessary to keep the legion stationed here,” said Dr Klenina, head of the International Interdisciplinary Archeological Expedition “Novae” of Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań.

Inside the uncovered structure, archaeologists found numerous artefacts, including over one hundred bronze coins. They were minted in the first quarter of the fourth century AD and a dozen or so coins date from the times of Emperor Licinius I (308-324 AD).

Special attention of archaeologists, however, was pointed by the limestone head sculpture depicting a syncretic deity – Dionysus-Sabazios. According to Dr. Biernacki, an AMU archaeologist who has been involved in work at Novae for many years, the artefact may indicate the arrival of settlers from very distant regions. From the artistic side, the sculpture exhibits distinctly middle-eastern influences with elements of the Greek art of the archaic period of the 1st or 2nd century AD.

This AMU research is carried out in cooperation with the Institute of Archeology of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences.

Grand armoury of Roman Legion unveiled by AMU Archaeologists

Clay pot with hundreds of silver and gold coins found at Kaliakra Fortress in Bulgaria

An archaeological team working at the site of the Kaliakra Fortress on Bulgaria’s northern Black Sea coast have found a small clay pot containing close to 1000 objects, including silver and gold coins and jewellery, the National History Museum announced.

The find was made on August 17 2018. The find is made of 957 objects - 873 silver and 28 gold coins, 11 appliqués and buckles, 28 silver and bronze buttons, 11 gold earrings, two rings, one of which gold, and four beads of precious stones and gold.

The discovery, beneath the floor of a room that was burnt in the 14th century, happened during the 15th year of excavations at the fortress. The archaeological investigations are funded by the Ministry of Culture, Kavarna municipality and the National History Museum. The team is headed by the director of the National History Museum, Associate Professor Bonnie Petrunova.

The name "Kaliakra" is of Byzantine Greek origin. Kaliakra is the ancient Greek city Trizis (Greek: Τίριζις) which later renamed to Kaliakra Greek: Ἂκραι or Καλή Άκρα, Akrai or Kalē Akra. It is a combination of "καλός" ("beautiful") and "άκρα" ("headland" or "fortress") and is traditionally translated as "Beautiful Headland".

The medieval fortress of Kaliakra

An initial examination of a small part of the coins are from the time of Sultan Bayazid Yildirum (1389-1402), and a small part from that of his predecessor, Murad I (1362-1389).

In the same building, during the 2014-2017 surveys, part of a silver church bookcase, a white jade belt buckle, and 26 small copper coins from the time Bayezid I Yilderham (1389-1402) ), were found.

The building itself was built directly on the ruins of ancient buildings. Burial sites were found nearby. In one of the graves, in 2014, three gold coins, dating from the Nicene dynasty in the 13th century were found.

This is the third treasure to be found at the site, following two finds in earlier years, one of 60 coins, and another of 80 coins, gold earrings and small ornaments.

Clay pot with hundreds of silver and gold coins found at Kaliakra Fortress in Bulgaria

In Bulgaria was Found the Tomb of an Ancient Greek Ruler

Presumably the tomb belongs to the ancient Greek ruler of Thrace.

Monumental tomb of the III century BC was discovered by archaeologists in Bulgaria near the village of Manole near Plovdiv.

The Director of the regional archaeological Museum of Plovdiv Kostadin Kisiov reported that the structure has dimensions of 7 by 7 m and height 5 m.

The age of the tomb is confirmed by the identified ancient Greek bronze coins, carved in the third century of our era.

The study of the tomb in Manole continues. It is assumed that the search for the entrance to its interior will be gone for about a month.

In Bulgaria was Found the Tomb of an Ancient Greek Ruler

Ancient glass bracelets found at newly-discovered necropolis near Plovdiv’s Small Basilica

Very well-preserved glass bracelets have been found in a grave in a recently-discovered necropolis near Plovdiv’s Small Basilica.

The necropolis was found about two weeks ago, Plovdiv Bulgarian-language news website podtepeto.com reported.

According to archaeologist Elena Bozhinova, who is working on the site of about 200 sq m, the finds at the site date from about the 11th to the 14th centuries.

The use of the site varied in the centuries long past. At one point, it was a cemetery, and at another, a residential neighbourhood.

Also found were remnants of a very large stone building, something exceptional for the Middle Ages and more usual for the Roman era in the ancient city. It is assumed to have been a building of significant importance. A stone wall in the middle of the site is believed to have been enclosed in the necropolis.

According to Bozhinova, the finding of the glass bracelets helped to date the entire necropolis.

Dating the necropolis was more accurate than basing the date on coins, “as the glass bracelets are fragile and break easily, while one coin may not change for 300 years,” Bozhinova said.

“We did not expect it from the mediaeval period, but from it we have literally all possible archaeological structures,” she said. This included a paved street, a fragement of an apse, a below-level dwelling, and an underground storage space of which only the stove remained.

At the site, work is now proceeding from the mediaeval period further down to antiquity.

The Small Basilica in Plovdiv was built in the second half of the fifth century CE. The remnants were found in the 1980s. After an extensive conservation and restoration project, funded by the America for Bulgaria Foundation, Ministry of Culture and Plovdiv Municipality, the site – protected and housed in a special structure – opened to the public in May 2014.

Source/Photography/Bibliography

sofiaglobe.com

podtepeto.com

Ancient glass bracelets found at newly-discovered necropolis near Plovdiv’s Small Basilica

Fragment of 13th C mural showing St Peter found at Plovdiv’s Great Basilica site

Archaeologists working at the site of the Great Basilica in Plovdiv, the largest early Christian church found on the Balkans, have uncovered a fragment of a mediaeval mural believed to depict St Peter.

The fragment is estimated to date to the 13th to 14th centuries.

It was found in the hitherto unexamined northern nave, not far from the city’s Roman Catholic church close to the intersection of Maria Louisa and Tsar Boris III boulevards.

Two pictorial layers were found, each of them thought to be the work of a Constantinople master, featuring very precise and masterly work, Plovdiv Bulgarian-language news website podtepeto.com said.

This proves that the church was of great importance in antiquity and in the Middle Ages, archaeologists working at the site said.

Near the mural, archaeologists found a donor inscription on which the name Avram vividly stands out. The inscription is in Byzantine Greek, the report said.

The mediaeval church is thought to have served a nearby necropolis. It was founded in the 10th to 11th century.

The site has sufficient information to enable accurate dating, excavation head Zheni Tankova said.

Tankova said that the mediaeval frescoes found at the Episcopal Basilica were extremely rare, and that makes the site even more important and multi-faceted.

In the lobby at the main entrance to the house of worship, a number of depictions of beautiful birds were found, including an amazingly beautiful multicoloured peacock, the report said.

Source
podtepeto.com
sofiaglobe.com

Fragment of 13th C mural showing St Peter found at Plovdiv’s Great Basilica site

Explorers accidentally find a graveyard of more than 40 perfectly preserved ancient shipwrecks at the bottom of the Black Sea

More than 40 shipwrecks have been discovered from the Ottoman and Byzantine periods, many of which provide the first views of ship types known from historical sources. Pictured is a shipwreck from the Ottoman period

The Black Sea Maritime Archaeology Project has been scouring the sea bed of the Black Sea
The primary focus is to carry out geophysical surveys, but over 40 shipwrecks have also been found
They are 'astonishingly well preserved' due to the lack of oxygen in the Black Sea's 'dead zone'
The findings provide new information on the communities living on the Black Sea coast

In the depths of the Black Sea lies a landscape of complete darkness, where there is no light and no oxygen.

Archaeologists have long believed this 'dead zone' holds of a perfectly preserved graveyard of shipwrecks.

Now, a mapping expedition has proved them right, after accidentally uncovering more than 40 ancient shipwrecks from the Ottoman and Byzantine periods.  

The expedition has been scouring the waters 5,900ft (1,800 metres) below the surface of the Black Sea using an off-shore vessel equipped with some of the most advanced underwater equipment in the world.

The vessel is on an expedition mapping submerged ancient landscapes which were inundated with water following the last Ice Age.

The project, known Black Sea Maritime Archaeology Project (Black Sea MAP), involves an international team led by the University of Southampton's Centre for Maritime Archaeology.

Professor Jon Adams, principle investigator on the project, said: 'We're endeavouring to answer some hotly-debated questions about when the water level rose, how rapidly it did so and what effects it had on human populations living along this stretch of the Bulgarian coast of the Black Sea. 

'The primary focus of this project is to carry out geophysical surveys to detect former land surfaces buried below the current sea bed, take core samples and characterise and date them, and create a palaeoenvironmental reconstruction of Black Sea prehistory.'

The vessel is based on board the Stril Explorer, and carries some of the most advanced underwater survey systems in the world.

The researchers are using two Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs) to survey the sea bed.

One is optimised for high resolution 3D photography, while the other, called Surveyor Interceptor, 'flies' at four times the speed of conventional ROVs and carries an entire suite of geophysical instrumentation, as well as lights, high definition cameras and a laser scanner. 

The researchers used two Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs) to survey the sea bed. These have discovered several wrecks, including this one from the Byzantine period (pictured)

The wrecks, such as this one from the Medieval period, are astonishingly well preserved due to the anoxic conditions (absence of oxygen) of the Black Sea below 150 metres

Since the project started, Surveyor Interceptor has set new records for depth at 5,900ft (1,800 metres) and sustained speed  of over six knots (7mph), and has covered 1,250 kilometres (776 miles).

Among the wrecks are ships from the Ottoman and Byzantine Empires, which provide new information on the communities on the Black Sea coast.

Many of the colonial and commercial activities of ancient Greece and Rome, and of the Byzantine Empire, centred on the Black Sea. 

After 1453, when the Ottoman Turks occupied Constantinople (and changed its name to Istanbul), the Black Sea was virtually closed to foreign commerce. 

Nearly 400 years later, in 1856, the Treaty of Paris re-opened the sea to the commerce of all nations. 

Professor Adams said: 'The wrecks are a complete bonus, but a fascinating discovery, found during the course of our extensive geophysical surveys. 

The Remotely Operate Vehicles captured the shipwrecks in stunning detail, including this intricate stern of a ship from the Ottoman period

While the primary focus of the project is to carry out geophysical surveys, shipwrecks, including this one from the Ottoman period, have given new insights into how communities live on the shores of the Black Sea

The exploration vessel is based on board the Stril Explorer, and carries some of the most advanced underwater survey systems in the world

'They are astonishingly preserved due to the anoxic conditions (absence of oxygen) of the Black Sea below 150 metres. 

'Using the latest 3D recording technique for underwater structures, we've been able to capture some astonishing images without disturbing the sea bed.

'We are now among the very best exponents of this practice methodology and certainly no-one has achieved models of this completeness on shipwrecks at these depths.'

SCANNING THE BLACK SEA BED 

The researchers are using two Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs) to survey the sea bed.

One is optimised for high resolution 3D photography, while the other, called Surveyor Interceptor, 'flies' at four times the speed of conventional ROVs and carries an entire suite of geophysical instrumentation, as well as lights, high definition cameras and a laser scanner.

Since the project started, Surveyor Interceptor has set new records for depth (1,800 metres) and sustained speed over six knots (seven miles/hour), and has covered 1,250 kilometres (776 miles).

A collection of more than 40 shipwrecks have been discovered and inspected, many of which provide the first views of ship types never seen before.

Among the wrecks are ships from the Ottoman and Byzantine Empires, which provide new information on the communities on the Black Sea coast.

This Remotely Operated Vehicle, called the 'Work Class Supporter', which is optimised for high resolution 3D photography, is designed to capture high resolution 3D photography and video. The researchers are using two Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs) to survey the sea bed.

The project has been scanning the bottom of the Black Sea, and has so far covered 1,250 kilometres (776 miles)

Many of the colonial and commercial activities of ancient Greece and Rome, and of the Byzantine Empire, centred on the Black Sea

Explorers accidentally find a graveyard of more than 40 perfectly preserved ancient shipwrecks at the bottom of the Black Sea