Bulgarian Prosecutor’s Office Charges 3 Treasure Hunters for Raiding Medieval Fortress
A view of the ruins of the medieval fortress Kaleto located near the town of Krasnovo in Southern Bulgaria. Photo: Traffic News
Three men have been charged with treasure hunting by the District Prosecutor’s Office in the southern Bulgarian city of Plovdiv after they have been arrested for raiding a medieval fortress.
The three treasure hunters are aged 38, 46, and 48; two of them are natives of Plovdiv, while one comes from the town of Hisarya, Plovdiv District, the press service of the Plovdiv District Prosecutor’s Office has announced.
The men were arrested on November 13, 2014, near the town of Krasnovo, Plovdiv District, while they were excavating illegally the ruins of a medieval fortress known as Kaleto.
The fortress in question has not been excavated by archaeologists; it dates back to the 12th-15th century AD, i.e. the period of the Second Bulgarian Empire (1185-1396 AD).
(“Kale” is a Turkish word meaning “fortress” left over from the Ottoman period commonly used for the numerous ruins of ancient and medieval fortresses all over Bulgaria, whose proper names are sometimes unknown.)
According to the testimonies of five witnesses, the three treasure hunters were seeking gold coins. They were busted by the local police as they were removing stones and tossing them off the medieval fortress wall.
The three men tried to run away upon the arrival of the police who were alerted about the treasure hunters’ presence by local residents.
During the searches in the treasure hunters’ car and homes, the police discovered metal detectors and other treasure hunting tools as well as archaeological artifacts.
The archaeological investigation assigned for the case has found that the three men damaged the central part of the Kaleto Fortress, next to the medieval fortress water storage reservoir, destroying the archaeological layers and undermining the walls of the reservoir.
The Kaleto Fortress next to the town of Krasnovo was granted the status of a cultural heritage monument in 1965.
The three treasure hunters are to be tried by the Plovdiv District Court.
In an unrelated case, a collector of Antiquity coins from the town of Ivaylo, Pazardzhik District, in Southern Bulgaria, has received a 1.5-year suspended sentence and a BGN 4,000 (app. EUR 2,045) fine for keeping illegally a total of ancient coins 1,277 coins.
The archaeological and numismatic investigation has found that the coins are worth a total of BGN 29,705 (app. EUR 15,187), reports the Monitor daily.
The coins were discovered in a cardboard box in the home of the defendant Todor Atanasov during a police raid in May 2014.
The man is said to have been a known collector of Antiquity coins, and locals say some of his competitors may have tipped off the police.
Under Bulgaria’s Cultural Heritage Act, the keeping of coins and other archaeological and cultural artifacts is illegal unless the origin of the private collection is proven to be legal, and the collection is registered with the local museum authorities.
However, collectors around the country are often unwilling to register their collections fearing information leaks to criminal gangs that could rob them.
During the investigation and the trial, Atanasov has given conflicting testimonies as to how he ended up with the coins which have been confiscated by the court as part of the verdict.
Treasure hunting and illegal trafficking of antiques have been rampant in Bulgaria after the collapse of the communism regime in 1989 (and allegedly before that). Estimates vary but some consider this the second most profitable activity for the Bulgarian mafia after drug trafficking.
One recent estimate suggests its annual turnover amounts to BGN 500 million (app. EUR 260 million), and estimates of the number of those involved range from about 5 000 to 200 000 – 300 000, the vast majority of whom are impoverished low-level diggers.
The medieval fortress Kaleto located near the town of Krasnovo, Plovdiv District in Southern Bulgaria.
(“Kale” is a Turkish word meaning “fortress” left over from the Ottoman period commonly used for the numerous ruins of ancient and medieval fortresses all over Bulgaria, whose proper names are sometimes unknown.)
The Kaleto Fortress near Krasnovo dates back to the 12th-15th century, i.e. the period of the Second Bulgarian Empire (1185-1396 AD). It has an area of about 4 decares (app. 1 acre).
The fortress wall is about 1.8-2.2 meters wide. It has two entrances, from the north and from the east. The fortress was destroyed in a fire. It has not been excavated by archaeologists to date.
The Kaleto Fortress next to the town of Krasnovo was granted the status of a cultural heritage monument in 1965.
