Ancient Roman Ceramic Factory to Be Restored with Norway Funding in Bulgaria’s Pavlikeni
One of the 52 kilns for baking ceramic items discovered at the Ancient Roman villa estate near Bulgaria’s Pavlikeni. Photo: TV grab from News7
The only known Ancient Roman ceramic factory in Southeast Europe, which is located near the northern Bulgarian town of Pavlikeni, will be restored as part of a project for the promotion of cultural tourism funded by the Norwegian government.
The Ancient Roman ceramic production center near Pavlikeni is located on a plot of 139 decares (app. 34.3 acres). It was part of the villa estate of a Roman military veteran, and is dated to the end of the 1st century AD.
“At the beginning of the 2nd century they started ceramic production. What emerged here was like a ceramic factory since we have discovered so far a total of 52 kilns for baking household and construction ceramics. The produce made in these kilns was traded within a wide region,” explains Kalin Chakarov, an archaeologist from the Pavlikeni Museum of History, as cited by Bulgarian TV channel News7.
The Ancient Roman villa estate with its ceramic factory was destroyed in 170 AD by the Costoboci, then rebuilt, and ultimately abandoned for good after 235 AD, possibly because of the barbarian invasion by the Goths and Carpi in 238-239 AD.
The Ancient Roman pottery making center was first found in 1971 by Bulgarian archaeologist Bogdan Sultov. During the following decade, the archaeologists kept discovering various ceramic vessels, tools, jewelry, and even Ancient Roman child toys.
Ancient Roman child toys discovered at the cite of the veteran’s villa and ceramic factor near Bulgaria’s Pavlikeni, part of the collection of the Pavlikeni Museum of History. Photo: TV grab from News7
The excavations of the Roman ceramic center near Pavlikeni were terminated in the 1982, and were resumed only in the summer of 2014 with BGN 8,500 (app. EUR 4,250) from Pavlikeni Municipality.
Now Pavlikeni Municipality has won a grant for the conservation and rehabilitation of the Ancient Roman pottery making center from the Norway Grants, a development aid mechanism of the government of Norway, amounting to EUR 740,000; of those, at least EUR 22,000 will be spent on completing the excavations.
The archaeologists working near Pavlikeni have unearthed half of the entire Roman villa estate; the excavations will continue over the summer of 2015. The site has been opened for visitors long ago but still needs further excavations, rehabilitation, and additional infrastructure.
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Ruins of the Ancient Roman villa estate of a Roman military veteran which contained a ceramic factory near Bulgaria’s Pavlikeni. Photo: TV grab from News7
“This is one of the first open–air museums in Bulgaria because the excavated architecture and the furnaces themselves were exhibited [in situ], and can be seen. This makes this site, I would say, the only one of its kind in Southeast Europe,” Chakarov says.
In his words, in order to turn the Ancient Roman ceramic factory into a tourist destination, it needs some rehabilitation work but mostly an advertising campaign in order to make it more known among the public.
“We now hope for new archaeological discoveries in order to enrich the collection of the our museum,” says Pavlikeni Mayor Emanuil Manolov, reminding that the 2014 excavations resumed with meager municipal funding were conducted with the help of volunteering archaeology students from Veliko Tarnovo University “St. Cyril and St. Methodius”.
The funding from the Norway grant will also be used for repair and rehabilitation works of road and water supply infrastructure, an exhibition area, and the conservation and restoration of the Ancient Roman pottery making factory in order to make it a destination for cultural tourism. Pavlikeni Mayor Manolov hopes that the project will be completed by the end of 2015.
Part of the ruins of the Ancient Roman villa estate of a Roman military veteran which contained a ceramic factory near Bulgaria’s Pavlikeni. Photo: TV grab from News7
Part of the ruins of the Ancient Roman villa estate of a Roman military veteran which contained a ceramic factory near Bulgaria’s Pavlikeni. Photo: TV grab from News7
The Ancient Roman ceramics factory and Roman military veteran’s villa near the town of Pavlikeni in Central Northern Bulgaria was found in 1971 by Bulgarian archaeologist Bogdan Sultov who excavated it for about a decade.
It is the best researched Ancient Roman ceramics factory in Southeast Europe. It also especially notable because today it has been turned into an open-air museum ceramics production during the Roman Era, featuring a large number of preserved ancient kilns as well as a restoration of the ancient manufacturing process housed in modern-day buildings made of ancient materials.
The Ancient Roman ceramics production center near Pavlikeni is located on a plot of 139 decares (app. 34.3 acres). It was part of the villa estate of a Roman military veteran, and is dated to the end of the 1st century AD.
The ceramic production started at the beginning of the 2nd century AD. Archaeological excavations have revealed a total of 52 kilns for baking household and construction ceramics which was traded and sold in the entire region.
The Ancient Roman villa estate with its ceramic factory was destroyed in 170 AD by the Costoboci, then rebuilt, and ultimately abandoned for good after 235 AD, possibly because of the barbarian invasion by the Goths and Carpi in 238-239 AD.
Archaeologist Bogdan Sultov’s excavations of the Roman ceramic center near Pavlikeni were terminated in the 1979 (Sultov passed away in 1982), and were resumed only in the summer of 2014 with funding from Pavlikeni Municipality. In 2015, the Municipality and the Pavlikeni Museum of History won a EUR 736,000 grant for the partial restoration and rehabilitation of the site. In addition to Ancient Roman buildings and kilns, the excavations there have revealed numerous ceramic vessels, tools, jewelry, and even Ancient Roman child toys.
