Българско Национално Радио
Current position: Home > Radio Bulgaria > English Service > History and Religion > Latest
August 08, 2007, 4:37 PM BG, 1:37 PM GMT
Radio Bulgaria
Radio Bulgaria
Български
Русский
English
Deutsch
Français
Español
Српски
Ελληνικά
Shqip
Türkçe
عربي
Internet radio
Хоризонт
Христо Ботев
Български
Русский
English
Deutsch
Français
Español
Српски
Ελληνικά
Shqip
Türkçe
عربي
History and Religion
Published on August 22, 2005 at 3:43 PM BG
Updated on September 08, 2005 at 2:40 PM BG
Save Print Send

Rock sanctuary aged 6600 years, new exciting find of Bulgarian archaeology

Recently archaeologists dug out in Northern Bulgaria a rock sanctuary aged 6600 years. It was found in the Vodna Cave, 30 m above the river flowing through the cave’s interior. The head of the archaeological expedition that came across the find Sergei Torbatov from the Archaeological Institute and Museum at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, was interviewed for Radio Bulgaria.

“The earliest evidence about the rock sanctuary dates back to the end of 19 c. and came through the notes of Karel Skorpil. He has been recognized as the father of Bulgarian archaeological science. Skorpil was impressed by the Latin and Greek inscriptions cut into the stone dating to the Roman era, the early 3 c. AD. As a specialist in Roman archaeology I hoped to unearth something new and to explore the cult practices of this sanctuary. To the great surprise of our team it turned out that the sanctuary is much older. In fact it originated in the early eneolith era, some 4600 years BC. We found a rich pottery collection with more than 2000 ceramic fragments. We have evidence that the sanctuary was operational in the Bronze Age. Later it was used by the local Thracian population. In Roman times the place kept its functions. Surviving inscriptions on rock vaults are a testimony to that”.

Archeologists found two monastic cells in a spacious rock niche in the ancient sanctuary. In one of them they came across a human image with a Cyrillic inscription. In the other they found a relief image of a priest. Sergei Torbatov casts light on further research archaeologists plan to carry out.

“We will resume the exploration of the ancient settlement of Kaleto in the town of Mezdra. Archaeological studies of this site since 1970s have identified several key periods in its history. Earliest evidence comes from the eneolith. Other evidence points to the first millennium BC. In the early period of Roman rule – 2-3 c. AD – a sanctuary functioned in this place. In 4 c. a fortified settlement originated there providing for the guard of the key route along the Iskar River gorge. A proto-Bulgarian village originated on the same hill – Kaleto – in the early Middle Ages. In 11-12 c. it was fortified and survived till the Ottoman conquest in the Bulgarian lands. Our expedition seeks to achieve a more precise dating of the different periods in the history of the site. Foreign colleagues keen on Bulgaria’s heritage have joined our team. They come from USA, UK, Norway and Taiwan.”

Written by Diana Dimitrova

English version Daniela Konstantinova
Save Print Send
 
Site map Help Contact us

Highlights

Latest
© 2007 Bulgarian National Radio. All rights reserved. Designed and Powered by BSH Ltd.