Archeology in the heart of Sofia

published on 3/7/11 1:49 PM

Some of the interestiing artefacts rescued during excavations in downtown Sofia

Photo: Veneta Pavlova

One of the archaeological sites that has been intensively excavated in the past year is situated in the heart of Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. Its exact location is the beginning of Maria Luiza Boulevard. During the digging and building of a new subway station, the remains of part of the antique settlement of Serdika (the ancient name of Sofia city) emerged. Hence the current excavation works there have a salvage and conservation character. The unearthed remains allowed archaeologists to get a glimpse of the ancient settlement plan of Serdika. The head of the excavation works, Dr. Mario Ivanov, has pointed out that the modern city center coincides with the ancient one. Moreover, the excavations have uncovered sections of four streets and several ancient buildings. The exact dating is also important. It turned out that the uncovered sections date back to mid-1st century C.E. when the Roman Empire started its eastward enlargement. Uncovered coins and buttons suggest that the first settlers were most probably Roman veterans. In the end of 3rd century C.E. and due to its strategic position on the Roman route Via Militaris, Serdika became the capital of new Roman province of Dacia Interior. Serdika heyday was in 4th century C.E. Emperor Constantine the Great, who had a residence in the town, once said “Serdika is my Rome”. Most of the uncovered remains studied by the team of Dr. Mario Ivanov date back precisely to 4th century C.E. The end of the century, however, was marked by a natural cataclysm – most probably an earthquake – which caused extensive destruction.

According to archaeologist Snezana Goryanova, there are hardly any remains left of habitation from subsequent centuries, the first one being from 11th century when crafts started developing. There are many remains from the period of Ottoman Rule (1396-1878). In 2010, two churches were uncovered from that period.

“In the heart of Sofia there is a large number of small Christian churches,” says Snezana Goryanova. “Some of them were most probably built in the time of the Second Bulgarian Kingdom (1185-1396) and were renovated during the Ottoman rule. Others were built between 16th and 18th centuries. In each case, the Ottoman Turks required that new churches could be built only on the site of previous existing temples.”

Adjacent to the excavation site, archaeologists have uncovered the remains of Banya Bashi Mosque built in the 16th century. This is what Snezana Goryanova adds:

“A building next to the mosque has apparently undergone several stages of renovation and reconstruction in 18-19th centuries and could be identified as one of the local caravanserai (large buildings with an inner court in which travelers and caravans could stay over the night). This is still our hypothesis but we have evidence to substantiate it – a large number of fireplaces. Thanks to them guests could prepare food and warm up.”

During the excavations, the archaeologists discovered traces of urban development dated back to the 18th-19th centuries that consisted of laying cobbled stones and building a system of sewers. Many coins and ceramic and glass vessels have also been uncovered. It is believed that many of them served as pots to store food – some kind of ancient precursors to the refrigerator. Later some of those vessels were used as garbage bins. Precisely in the garbage, archaeologists made of some of their most interesting finds.

English version: Delian Zahariev

По публикацията работи: Veneta Pavlova

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Archeology in the heart of Sofia

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