The 9th century seal found in Bulgaria’s early medieval capital Pliska features the Virgin Mary with a “grown-up” Baby Jesus on one side, and the Calvary Hill with the cross on the other. Photo: TV grab from BNT

Bizarre 9th Century Seal with ‘Adult’ Baby Jesus, Virgin Mary Discovered in Capital of First Bulgarian Empire Pliska

A 9th century lead seal with a weird depiction of Jesus Christ alongside Virgin Mary has been discovered by archaeologists excavating an aristocrat’s mansion from the Early Middle Ages in Pliska, the capital of the First Bulgarian Empire at the…

Headless Horse Skeleton Found in Likely First Known Cuman Settlement from Second Bulgarian Empire

Headless Horse Skeleton Found in Likely First Known Cuman Settlement from Second Bulgarian Empire

A well-preserved headless animal skeleton, most likely of a horse, has been discovered by Bulgarian archaeologists excavating a settlement from the High Middle Ages at the foot of the Rahovets Fortress, which might prove to be the very first known…

300-Meter-Long Wooden Passage between Inner City, Citadel Gates Discovered in Capital of First Bulgarian Empire Pliska

300-Meter-Long Wooden Passage between Inner City, Citadel Gates Discovered in Capital of First Bulgarian Empire Pliska

Archaeologists have discovered the remnants of a 300-meter-long (nearly 1,000 feet) wooden passage which connected gates of the inner city and the citadel of Pliska, the capital of the First Bulgarian Empire between 680 and 893 AD, alongside other newly…

6,500-Year-Old Full Set of Vessels, Including Zoomorphic One, Gold Bead from World’s Oldest Found in Prehistoric Settlement Mound near Bulgaria’s Pomorie

6,500-Year-Old Full Set of Vessels, Including Zoomorphic One, Gold Bead from World’s Oldest Found in Prehistoric Settlement Mound near Bulgaria’s Pomorie

A full set of 21 prehistoric pottery vessels, including a remarkable zoomorphic vessel, and a gold bead which is among the oldest gold items in the world, have been discovered in a Chalcolithic (Aeneolithic, Copper Age) settlement mound from the…

‘Economic’ Section of 5,000-Year-Old Settlement with а Dozen Kilns Found in Central Bulgarian Valley

‘Economic’ Section of 5,000-Year-Old Settlement with а Dozen Kilns Found in Central Bulgarian Valley

A nearly 5,000-year-old prehistoric settlement, or, rather, its “economic” and production section, with close to a dozen kilns has been discovered by archaeologists in the Karlovo Valley in Central Bulgaria.

Vast Artifact Collection Seized from Exiled Oligarch to Be Appraised by German, Italian Experts, Bulgaria's Prosecution Says

Vast Artifact Collection Seized from Exiled Oligarch to Be Appraised by German, Italian Experts, Bulgaria’s Prosecution Says

The very large and rich collection counting thousands of Antiquity archaeological artifacts, many of them gold and silver Ancient Thracian vessels, which has been seized from Bulgarian businessman Vasil Bozhkov, oftentimes described in media as an oligarch, is intact and…

5th Century BC Ancient Greek Shrine Discovered in First Ever Excavations on Tiny St. Peter Island off Bulgaria’s Black Sea Coast near Sozopol

5th Century BC Ancient Greek Shrine Discovered in First Ever Excavations on Tiny St. Peter Island off Bulgaria’s Black Sea Coast near Sozopol

An Antiquity shrine from the 5th century BC, the time of the Ancient Greek colonization of Bulgaria’s Black Sea coast, has been discovered during the first ever archaeological excavations on the tiny St. Petar / St. Peter Island off the…

Traces of First Ancient Greek Colonists in 7th Century BC Found under Byzantine City at Bulgaria’s Chernomorets on Black Sea Coast

Traces of First Ancient Greek Colonists in 7th Century BC Found under Byzantine City at Bulgaria’s Chernomorets on Black Sea Coast

Archaeological layers with remains from the earliest Ancient Greek colonists, or settlers, on today’s Bulgarian Black Sea coast dating back to the Archaic period in the 7th – 6th century BC have been surprisingly found by archaeologists excavating an Early…

Bulgaria’s National History Museum Extends Exhibition of 2018 Archaeological Discoveries

Bulgaria’s National History Museum Extends Exhibition of 2018 Archaeological Discoveries

Bulgaria’s National Museum of History in Sofia has extended by one month its exhibition showcasing for the first time artifacts discovered by its own archaeologists during the 2018 archaeological season.

Ancient Thracian Kralevo Gold Treasure - Kralevo, Targovishte District, Bulgaria

Ancient Thracian Kralevo Gold Treasure – Kralevo, Targovishte District, Bulgaria

The Kralevo Gold Treasure is an Ancient Thracian gold and silver treasure discovered in a Thracian burial mound near the town of Kralevo, Targovishte Municipality, Targovishte District, in Northeast Bulgaria.

Bulgaria’s Early Renaissance Boyana Church Gets Improved Lighting ahead of 40th UNESCO World Heritage Site Anniversary

Bulgaria’s Early Renaissance Boyana Church Gets Improved Lighting ahead of 40th UNESCO World Heritage Site Anniversary

The Early Renaissance Boyana Church in the Boyana quarter of Bulgaria’s capital Sofia, best known for its absolutely unique 1259 murals, has been equipped with brand new and improved lighting as it is about to celebrate the 40th anniversary since…

14th Century Tatar Plunder Treasure Pot Shown for the First Time in 2018 Archaeological Discoveries Exhibition

14th Century Tatar Plunder Treasure Pot Shown for the First Time in 2018 Archaeological Discoveries Exhibition

The treasure pot with Tatar plunder from ca. 1400 discovered in August 2018 in the Kaliakara Cape Fortress on Bulgaria’s Black Sea coast has been exhibited for the first time for the general public at the National Museum of History…

Bulgarian Navy Commander Awarded for Helping Archaeology Research of Black Sea Coast by National History Museum in Sofia

Bulgarian Navy Commander Awarded for Helping Archaeology Research of Black Sea Coast by National History Museum in Sofia

The Commander-in-Chief of the Bulgarian Navy, Rear Admiral Mitko Petev, has been presented with an award by the National Museum of History in Sofia for aiding the Museum’s researchers in their archaeological study of Bulgaria’s Black Sea coast.

Slavs, Avars Burned Down Byzantine City Chrisosotira in Early 7th Century, Digs on Bulgaria’s Black Sea Coast Reveal

Slavs, Avars Burned Down Byzantine City Chrisosotira in Early 7th Century, Digs on Bulgaria’s Black Sea Coast Reveal

The Early Byzantine city of Chrisosotira on Cape Chervenka on Bulgaria’s Black Sea coast was most likely sacked by the Slavs and Avars during their invasions of the Byzantine Empire in the first half of the 7th century AD, archaeologists…

Hoard of 18th Century Ottoman, Western European Coins Found in Treasure Pot in Bulgaria’s Black Sea Town Ahtopol

Hoard of 18th Century Ottoman, Western European Coins Found in Treasure Pot in Bulgaria’s Black Sea Town Ahtopol

A hoard of 854 silver and gold coins from the Ottoman Empire and Western Europe from the mid-18th century as well as jewelry have been discovered by archaeologists hidden in a treasure pot in late medieval ruins in the Bulgarian…

First Ever Gold Coin Found in Bulgaria’s Lyutitsa Fortress, of Byzantine (Nicaean) Emperor John III Ducas Vatatzes

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,…

Decline of Bulgarian, Byzantine Empires before Ottoman Conquest Revealed by Tatar Plunder Treasure Pot from Black Sea Fortress Kaliakra

Decline of Bulgarian, Byzantine Empires before Ottoman Conquest Revealed by Tatar Plunder Treasure Pot from Black Sea Fortress Kaliakra

The contents of the gold and silver treasure pot of plunder of a Tatar (Mongol) leader from ca. 1400, which has recently been discovered in Bulgaria’s Kaliakara Cape Fortress on the Black Sea coast, is a true testimony to the…

13th Century Woman Buried in Bulgaria’s Rahovets Fortress Had 12,000-Year-Old Gene Mutation of Europe’s Last Hunter-Gatherers

13th Century Woman Buried in Bulgaria’s Rahovets Fortress Had 12,000-Year-Old Gene Mutation of Europe’s Last Hunter-Gatherers

A 13th century woman, whose grave was discovered in 2017 in the Antiquity and medieval Rahovets Fortress in Central North Bulgaria, has turned to carry a 12,000-year-old gene mutation from Europe’s last nomads, hunter-gatherers who wandered through the continent as…

Archaeologists Find Thracian, Byzantine Settlements, Medieval Monastery on Bulgaria’s St. Thomas Island in Black Sea

Archaeologists Find Thracian, Byzantine Settlements, Medieval Monastery on Bulgaria’s St. Thomas Island in Black Sea

An Ancient Thracian settlement, an Early Byzantine settlement, and a small monastery from the Late Middle Ages have been discovered by archaeologists on Bulgaria’s tiny St. Thomas Island (Snake Island) in the Black Sea.

Gold, Silver Treasure Pot with Tatar Leader’s Plunder Discovered in Kaliakra Fortress on Bulgaria’s Black Sea Coast

Gold, Silver Treasure Pot with Tatar Leader’s Plunder Discovered in Kaliakra Fortress on Bulgaria’s Black Sea Coast

A clay treasure pot containing almost 1,000 gold and silver archaeological artifacts believed to have been looted by a Tatar (Mongol) leader, whose horde was eventually subjugated by the Ottomans ca. 1400, has been discovered during excavations in the Kaliakra…

Sunken Fortress from Ancient Thrace Discovered at Bulgaria’s St. Thomas Island Which Used to Be Black Sea Peninsula

Sunken Fortress from Ancient Thrace Discovered at Bulgaria’s St. Thomas Island Which Used to Be Black Sea Peninsula

A now sunken fortress from Ancient Thrace has been discovered at the tiny St. Thomas Island (also known as Snake Island) off Bulgaria’s Black Sea coast during an underwater archaeology expedition, which has also found that the island used to…

Bulgaria’s Belovo Seeks to Promote Impressive Early Christian Basilica as Archaeology, Cultural Tourism Site

Bulgaria’s Belovo Seeks to Promote Impressive Early Christian Basilica as Archaeology, Cultural Tourism Site

Promotion of the rather well preserved but unknown ruins of an impressive Early Christian basilica (the Belovo Basilica) from the long defunct Late Antiquity and medieval city of Leuka (Leuke) is a main objective of the authorities in Belovo Municipality,…

Archaeologists Find Seal of Byzantine Empress Yolande of Montferrat in Bulgaria’s Lyutitsa Fortress

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…

Exhibition of 16th – 19th Century Gold Jewelry from Bulgaria Extended by National Museum of History in Sofia till October 2018

Exhibition of 16th – 19th Century Gold Jewelry from Bulgaria Extended by National Museum of History in Sofia till October 2018

Bulgaria’s National Museum of History in Sofia has announced it is extending its exhibition (more photos here) showcasing gold jewels and the goldsmiths’ art from the Bulgarian lands from the 15th until the 19th century.

Early Byzantium’s Haemimontus Province on Bulgaria’s Southern Black Sea Coast Presented in New Book Based on 8 Years of Excavations

Early Byzantium’s Haemimontus Province on Bulgaria’s Southern Black Sea Coast Presented in New Book Based on 8 Years of Excavations

A new book presents findings about the Haemimontus province of the Early Byzantine Empire in the Late Antiquity (5th – 7th century AD) based on 8 years of archaeological field research of fortresses and settlements on the southern Black Sea…

Archaeologists Find 6th Century BC Home, Red-Figure Pottery Krater Depicting Oedipus and the Sphinx from Apollonia Pontica in Bulgaria’s Sozopol

Archaeologists Find 6th Century BC Home, Red-Figure Pottery Krater Depicting Oedipus and the Sphinx from Apollonia Pontica in Bulgaria’s Sozopol

The well-preserved ruins of a 6th century BC home from the Ancient Greek colony of Apollonia Pontica, today’s Sozopol on Bulgaria’s Black Sea coast, have been discovered during rescue digs together with numerous artifacts, which include an Attica red-figure pottery…

Official Catalog of 2017 Bulgarian Archaeology Exhibition Released by Bulgaria’s National Institute and Museum of Archaeology

Official Catalog of 2017 Bulgarian Archaeology Exhibition Released by Bulgaria’s National Institute and Museum of Archaeology

Bulgaria’s National Institute and Museum of Archaeology in Sofia has released the official print catalog for 11th annual “Bulgarian Archaeology” exhibition which has showcased for the first time some of the most intriguing artifacts discovered across the country during the…

Weird Medieval Funeral of Woman Buried Face Down, Hands Tied on Back, Discovered in Nebet Tepe Fortress in Bulgaria’s Plovdiv

Weird Medieval Funeral of Woman Buried Face Down, Hands Tied on Back, Discovered in Nebet Tepe Fortress in Bulgaria’s Plovdiv

A weird medieval funeral in which a woman was buried face down, with hands tied on her back, has been discovered by archaeologists in a necropolis in the Ancient Thracian and Ancient Roman Nebet Tepe Fortress in the southern Bulgarian…

Unseen Silver Kantharos with Theseus, Rhyton with Silenus Shown for the First Time in Golden Fleece, Jason and the Argonauts Exhibition in Bulgaria’s Sofia

Unseen Silver Kantharos with Theseus, Rhyton with Silenus Shown for the First Time in Golden Fleece, Jason and the Argonauts Exhibition in Bulgaria’s Sofia

A number of previously unseen Ancient Thracian and/or Greek archaeological artifacts from a private collection – including a silver kantharos (ancient cup) with Thesius and a silver rhyton (ancient fluid container) with Silenus – have been showcased for the first…

Bulgaria’s National Museum of History Publishes Volume 30 of Its ‘Proceedings’

Bulgaria’s National Museum of History Publishes Volume 30 of Its ‘Proceedings’

Bulgaria’s National Museum of History in Sofia has released Volume 30 of its official “Proceedings” series. The Proceedings edition is bilingual, in Bulgarian and English, of approximately 400 pages, and features a total of 31 papers in archaeology, numismatics, sphragistics,…

16th – 19th Century Gold Jewelry from Bulgaria Showcased in New Exhibition by National Museum of History in Sofia

16th – 19th Century Gold Jewelry from Bulgaria Showcased in New Exhibition by National Museum of History in Sofia

Bulgaria’s National Museum of History in Sofia has unveiled a new exhibition showcasing gold jewels and the goldsmiths’ art from the Bulgarian lands from the 15th until the 19th century.

8,000-Year-Old Ceramic Slab with Possibly World’s Oldest Writing Discovered near Bulgaria’s Nova Zagora

8,000-Year-Old Ceramic Slab with Possibly World’s Oldest Writing Discovered near Bulgaria’s Nova Zagora

A small ceramic slab from the 6th millennium BC with written signs which might be the world’s oldest writing has been discovered by archaeologists at a prehistoric settlement near the town of Nova Zagora in Southeast Bulgaria.

2017 ‘Bulgarian Archaeology’ Exhibition Opened at Bulgaria’s National Institute and Museum of Archaeology in Sofia

2017 ‘Bulgarian Archaeology’ Exhibition Opened at Bulgaria’s National Institute and Museum of Archaeology in Sofia

Bulgaria’s National Institute and Museum of Archaeology in Sofia has opened formally its 11th annual “Bulgarian Archaeology” exhibition which showcases for the first time some of the most intriguing artifacts discovered across the country during the 2017 archaeological season.

New Exhibition Showcases Bulgaria’s 15th-19th Century Religious Culture and Folklore Art at National Museum of History in Sofia

New Exhibition Showcases Bulgaria’s 15th-19th Century Religious Culture and Folklore Art at National Museum of History in Sofia

Bulgaria’s National Museum of History in Sofia is opening a new exhibition which is to showcase “The Sacred Space of Religious Culture and Folklore Art in the Bulgarian Lands, 15th-19th century.”

Bulgaria’s National Institute and Museum of Archaeology to Showcase Top Finds from 2017 in Major Annual Exhibition

Bulgaria’s National Institute and Museum of Archaeology to Showcase Top Finds from 2017 in Major Annual Exhibition

Bulgaria’s National Institute and Museum of Archaeology in Sofia is set to open in February its 11th annual “Bulgarian Archaeology” exhibition which is to showcase some of the most exciting items discovered during the 2017 archaeological season.

Archaeology in Bulgaria. and Beyond