Archaeologists Research Two Noble Families in First Bulgarian Empire’s Capital Veliki Preslav
Part of the ruins of medieval Bulgarian capital Veliki Preslav (Great Preslav), First Bulgarian Empire. Photo: National Institute and Museum of Archaeology, Europeana Carare Project
Archaeologists are researching the lives of two noble families from Veliki Preslav (“Great Preslav”), the capital of the First Bulgarian Empire in 893-970 AD during the excavation of an early medieval monastery there, a report informs.
The excavations at the site known as the “Monastery of Ichirgu-boil Mostich” in Veliki Preslav, in today’s Shumen District in Northeast Bulgaria are led Prof. Kazimir Popkonstantinov and Assoc. Prof. Rosina Kostova, who are husband and wife.
Popkonstantinov, an expert in medieval and Christian archaeology, is known, among other things for his 2010 discovery of the relics of St. John the Baptist on the St. Ivan Island in the Black Sea in Bulgaria’s Sozopol.
The renewed excavations at Veliki Preslav led by Popkonstantinov feature the participation of archaeology students from Veliko Tarnovo University “St. Cyril and St. Methodius,” reports the Veliko Tarnovo-based local daily “Borba.”
Among other things, the medieval Bulgarian capital of Veliki Preslav is also known for the marvelous Preslav Gold Treasure.
According to the report, during the 2024 summer, the archaeological team is researching further newly discovered floor pavements in the residences of aristocratic families from the capital of the First Bulgarian Empire (632/680-1018 AD) under Tsar Simeon I (r. 893-927) and Tsar Petar I (r. 927-969).
The period encompassing the rules of Knyaz Boris I (r. 852-889), Tsar Simeon, and Tsar Petar is known as the Golden Age of the First Bulgarian Empire.
The archaeologists are conducting research in an area on as “Selishte” (“Settlement”), which hosted representatives of the medieval Bulgarian aristocratic elite in the 10th century, including some of the people who were closest to Tsar Simeon I the Great.
The partly restored eastern gate of early medieval Bulgarian capital Pliska, First Bulgarian Empire. Photo: National Institute and Museum of Archaeology, Europeana Carare Project
The report points out that the Selishte in Veliki Preslav was the neighborhood of some of the most notable Bulgarians in the 10th century.
Thus, while the tsar, i.e., emperor, his family, and the patriarch of the Bulgarian church resided in Veliki Preslav’s inner city, the outer city quarter bordering the Golyama Kamchiya River was the elite neighborhood of Bulgaria’s Golden Century.
For more than 20 years now, archaeologists researching Veliki Preslav have been seeking to uncover more about the history of the family of Mostich, who bore the title of Ichirgu-boil and was probably the commander of the capital’s garrison.
The epitaph on his tombstone, which was discovered in 1952 at the ruins of a nearby church, is one of the first proofs that the Bulgarian title of “Tsar” (“czar”) was derived from the Roman title of “Caesar”.
According to the report, lead archaeologist Kazimir Popkonstantinov’s team is also seeking to uncover more on the family of another 10th century Bulgarian noble named Georgi Sinkel – or Synkellos / Syncellus.
(Not to be confused with 8th century Eastern Roman (Byzantine) monk Georgius Syncellus which sounds the same in Bulgarian).
In 2007, Popkonstantinov and Kostova dug up another burial chamber in the church where Mostich’s bones had been found.
It turned out to contain the remains of mother and relatives of Georgi Sinkel, as revealed by a brick inscription.
The inscription states that Georgi Sinkel buried his mother and other relatives in the chamber.
It is noted that synkellos / syncellus is an Orthodox church rank borrowed from the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) church, and was likely the closest official to the Bulgarian patriarch at the time.
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Pliska and Veliki Preslav (Great Preslav) are two of the capitals of the First Bulgarian Empire. Pliska was the capital of the First Bulgarian Empire in 680-893 AD, and Veliki Preslav in 893-970 AD, at the height of the Bulgarian state. The state capital was moved from Pliska to Veliki Preslav, a new medieval city nearby, in 893 AD in order to seal Bulgaria’s adoption of Christianity and the Bulgarian (Slavic, Cyrillic) script (in 865 and 886 AD, respectively). The ruins of both Pliska and Veliki Preslav can be seen today in the Shumen District in Northeast Bulgaria.
