During excavation works at the antique fortress in the Baluk Dere gully near Ivaylovgrad (Southern Bulgaria), archeologists have found artifacts dating back to Antiquity and the Middle Ages. As Ivailo Krastev, leader of the excavation works, says, the fortress was constructed in the 4th century and was probably prompted by moving the seat of the Roman Empire from Rome to Constantinople. During that period, a series of fortresses was constructed near the new capital city of the empire and the Baluk Dere fortress was one of them. Here is what archeologist Ivailo Krastev told a Radio Bulgaria reporter:
“This year we learned very interesting facts about the earliest settlers in this locality. In the deepest layers, we unearthed several Hellenistic coins dating back to the 2-1 century B.C., which makes us believe that in the 4th century this site had something to do with the Hellenistic Age. This is yet to be ascertained during the excavations. We have now confirmed for sure that life in the fortress ended in the first half of the 13th century, as no coins from a later period have been found”.
During the excavation works in July, many objects related to the culture and customs of the Bulgars (Proto-Bulgarians) were found: belt ornaments and small bells. “We were very happy to discover these artifacts because they prove the hypothesis that at the end of the 9th century and the beginning of the 10th century, Bulgarians had a fortress very near Constantinople, at less than 30 km away from Edirne. Thus we have archeological proofs of the territorial expansion of Bulgaria in this period that we know of from only historical annals”, Ivailo Hristov says.
At the excavation site, archeologists have also unearthed objects belonging to the traditional everyday life of people – pottery vessels as well as fishing hooks and weights, probably used for fishing in the waters of Baluk Dere gully. Many interesting finds have also been discovered in the necropolis dating back to the 11th century.
“In this necropolis, we discovered graves containing exceptionally rich pieces of jewelry such as glass and bronze bracelets and a necklace made of some 2,400 small glass beads”, archeologist Ivailo Kanev says. “After examining the necklace, we hooked the beads on a long piece of cord and its total length was almost 6 meters. Another novelty is that near one of the graves, we found a stone with a partly preserved inscription written in ancient Greek and dating back to the 4-6 century. Unfortunately, only the lowest 3 lines of the text are legible. The slab is hewn very well and the inscription looks very solemn. We hope that we will discover the missing parts in the further excavations. Epigraphy experts will analyze it in detail. This is the first inscription we have found and we hope to find more”, Ivailo Kanev says.
In July, many volunteers from abroad took part in the excavation works, most of them university students. Among them were two law students from Poznan, Poland, two students from the Prague Musical Academy, a student in cinema direction in Izmir, Turkey, a Chinese girl studying informatics in Orchid, and two girls from San Francisco. “These are intelligent, well-educated young people who worked diligently at the excavation site driven by their passion for archeological discovery”, Ivayko Kanev adds. After the excavation works, he continued his work in August with archeology students, focusing on the less popular part of the job of an archeologist – documenting and filing the unearthed objects, a job that requires a great deal of drawing and detailed description writing. “We need to be as responsible as possible to our historical heritage, so we meticulously record everything – how many pieces of pottery were found, what was the color of the soil, etc. This is of great importance to scholars and to the future generations.”
Along with other archeological sites in Bulgaria, the Baluk Dere fortress received state funding for prolonging the excavation works that will continue in September and October this year.
Translated by: Rossitsa Petcova
