First Ever Gold Coin Found in Bulgaria’s Lyutitsa Fortress, of Byzantine (Nicaean) Emperor John III Ducas Vatatzes
A gold coin has been discovered for the first time by the archaeologists excavating the medieval fortress Lyutitsa near the town of Ivaylovgrad in Southern Bulgaria – it is from the mid-13th century, and of the type minted by Byzantine,…
Archaeologists Find Seal of Byzantine Empress Yolande of Montferrat in Bulgaria’s Lyutitsa Fortress
A rare find, a lead seal of Yolande of Montferrat, Empress Irene of the Byzantine Empire, the second wife of Byzantine Emperor Andronicus II Palaeologus (r. 1282 – 1328), has been discovered by archaeologists excavating the medieval Bulgarian fortress Lyutitsa near…
Antiquity, Medieval Artifacts Exposed by Landslide Show Bulgaria’s Troyan Monastery May Be Much Older than Known
Archaeological artifacts from the Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages have been exposed by a landslide near the Troyan Monastery meaning that Bulgaria’s third largest monastery might have been founded long before 1600, as presently thought.
Coin Indicates Second Bulgarian Empire Gained Control over Thessaloniki (Salonica) in Mid 13th Century, Collector, Archaeologists Hypothesize
Thessaloniki (also known in English as Salonica or Thessalonica), the second largest city in today’s Greece and the second most important city of the Byzantine Empire in the Middle Ages, may have come under the control of the Second Bulgarian…
USD 1 Billion Worth of Archaeological Artifacts Smuggled Out of Bulgaria Annually, Archaeologist Claims
The archaeological artifacts extracted and exported from Bulgaria through treasure hunting and illegal trafficking of antiques are worth about USD 1 billion annually, according to Assoc. Prof. Konstantin Dochev, head of the Veliko Tarnovo Office of the Sofia-based National Institute…
Over 200 Archaeological Research Projects Vying for Meager Funding from Bulgaria’s Ministry of Culture in 2016
Over 200 archaeological projects are expected to compete for the meager excavation and conservation budget slated by Bulgaria’s Ministry of Culture for 2016.
Treasure Hunters in Bulgaria Get Away with Crimes Because of Undesignated Archaeological Sites, Archaeologist Says
Many treasure hunters in Bulgaria get away with punishments because of what appears to be a legislative loophole – charges against them fail in court if the archaeological sites where they had been caught digging are not designated as such,…
Treasure Hunting in Bulgaria Starting to Decline, Veliko Tarnovo Archaeologist Claims
The rampant treasure hunting destroying Bulgaria’s archaeological sites on a mass scale has started to decline in the past 2-3 years, believes archaeologist Assoc. Prof. Dr. Konstantin Dochev, head of the Veliko Tarnovo Branch of the National Institute and Museum…