Bulgarian Archaeologists Start Excavations of Looted Ancient Thracian Shrine on Mount Ostrets near Velingrad
Bulgarian archaeologists have started excavations of an Ancient Thracian shrine on Mount Ostrets in the Rhodope Mountains near the spa resort of Velingrad, Snezhana Veleva, Director of the Regional Museum of History in the southern city of Pazardzhik, has announced.
Persisting Myths about Legendary Rebel’s Gold Keep Drawing Bulgarian Treasure Hunters to Archaeological Sites
Large numbers of Bulgarian treasure hunters keep searching for alleged gold treasure(s) motivated by countless legends, thus damaging or destroying ancient and medieval archaeological sites, as it is believed that Robin Hood-like Bulgarian rebels from the 19th century used them…
Bulgaria’s Dobrichka Municipality Refuses Again Funding for Excavations of ‘Glorious Rock’ Fortress
The Town Council in Bulgaria’s northeastern Dobrichka Municipality has snubbed for the second time the request of the Regional Museum of History in the city of Dobrich to allocate funding for the archaeological excavations of the Slavnata Kanara (Glorious Rock)…
Bulldozers, Treasure Hunters Destroying Ancient Thracian Archaeological Sites in Bulgaria’s Satovcha Municipality
Construction bulldozers and treasure hunters have been destroying and raiding a large area of Ancient Thracian archaeological sites dating back as early as the 8th century BC in Satovcha Municipality, Blagoevgrad District, in Southwest Bulgaria.
Bulgarian Cabinet Grants Dobrich History Museum Excavation Rights for ‘Glorious Rock’ Fortress
Bulgaria’s Council of Ministers has granted the Regional Museum of History in the northeastern city of Dobrich three-year usage rights for archaeological excavations for the property of the Slavnata Kanara (Glorious Rock) Fortress where in 2014 the local archaeologists found…
Bulgarian Treasure Hunters Raiding Western Thrace in Greece in Search of Legendary Freedom Fighter’s Treasure
Treasure hunters from Bulgaria have started raiding archaeological sites in the historical region of Western Thrace in Greece in search of a huge treasure allegedly buried there by Captain Petko Voyvoda, a Bulgarian “haidutin”, freedom fighter, and national hero who…
Treasure Hunters Raid over 40 Archaeological Sites in Bulgaria’s Yambol District
Treasure hunters have looted and damaged over 40 archaeological sites from different time periods in Bulgaria’s archaeology-rich southeastern Yambol District since 2014.
Treasure Hunters Raid Soon-to-Be-Excavated Ancient Thracian Tumuli in Bulgaria’s Tatarevo
At least one of the Ancient Thracian burial mounds (tumuli) in the southern Bulgarian town of Tatarevo, Plovdiv District, which are soon supposed to be excavated by the Director of the Plovdiv Museum of Archaeology, Kostadin Kisyov, has been raided…
Bulgarian Archaeologist Discouraged over Meager Funding for Excavations of Looted Ancient Roman City Ratiaria
Bulgaria’s Ministry of Culture has allocated only BGN 12,000 (app. EUR 6,100) for the 2015 summer archaeological excavations of the Ancient Roman Danube city of Colonia Ulpia Traiana Ratiaria, which is located near today’s town of Archar in Northwest Bulgaria.
Krater Seized from Bulgarian Treasure Hunter Made in Ancient Greece during Age of Pericles
The 5th century BC krater, a special vessel for mixing wine (and water), which has recently been confiscated from a treasure hunter by the Bulgarian police, was made in Ancient Greece during the Age of Pericles, part of the Golden…
Ancient Roman City Ratiaria in Bulgaria’s Archar Assaulted by Brutal Treasure Hunters Yet Again
The Ancient Roman arsenal city of Ratiaria, also known as Colonia Ulpia Traiana Ratiaria, which is located near the northwestern Bulgarian town of Archar on the Danube River, has suffered brand new major damages from looting treasure hunters.
Bulgarian Police Seize Rare 5th Century BC Ancient Greek Krater from Treasure Hunter
Bulgarian police officers have confiscated a unique 5th century BC Ancient Greek krater, a special vessel for mixing wine (and water) used in Ancient Greece and Thrace, from a treasure hunter from the southern town of Susam, Haskovo District.
Archaeology Museum in Bulgaria’s Silistra Presents Newly Found Bronze Age Tools Seized from Treasure Hunters
The Museum of Archaeology in Bulgaria’s Danube city of Silistra has shown to the public for the first time a newly discovered “prehistoric treasure” of 22 copper adzes from the Bronze Age that have been confiscated from local treasure hunters…
Bulgarian Archaeology Chief Grieves Over Looted Necropolis of Ancient Thracian, Greek, Roman City Heraclea Sintica
The Director of Bulgaria’s National Institute of Archaeology with Museum, Ass. Prof. Dr. Lyudmil Vagalinski, has expressed his grief over the fact that most of the necropolis of the Ancient Thracian, Greek, and Roman city of Heraclea Sintica near the…
Plovdiv Archaeology Museum Shows for the First Time Rare Thracian Helmet with Trojan War Motifs from Bulgaria’s Brestovitsa
A very rare war helmet of a Thracian aristocrat from the 1st-2nd century AD found during emergency excavations of the Ancient Thracian tumulus (burial mound) known as Pamuk Mogila in Bulgaria’s Brestovitsa in 2013, has been shown to the public…
NGO Raises Funds to Rescue ‘Bulgaria’s Stonehenge’: Ancient Thracian Stone Circle (Cromlech) at Staro Zhelezhare
A Bulgarian NGO has managed to raise a considerable sum of money to fund the rescue excavations of the so called “Bulgarian Stonehenge” – an Ancient Thracian stone circle (cromlech) at the town of Staro Zhelezare near Hisarya in Southern…
Greek Man Testifies in Bulgarian Lawyers’ Trial over Treasure Hunting, Destruction of Thracian Tumulus
Greek citizen Nicolaos Uzunidis, 53, has testified before the District Court in the Bulgarian Black Sea city of Burgas in the trial of Zdravko Chepishev and Zhivko Chepishev, lawyers who are charged with treasure hunting and destruction of an Ancient…
Scores of Treasure Hunters Pillage Medieval Fortress, Late Iron Age Settlement in Search of Legendary Bulgarian Rebel’s Gold
Over the past month, an enormous number of ruthless treasure hunters from all over Bulgaria have been pillaging several unexplored archaeological sites near the town of Vetrintsi, Veliko Tarnovo District, including a medieval fortress and a Late Iron Age settlement, reports…
Expedition Sets Out in Search of Archaeology Sites in Bulgaria’s General Toshevo Municipality
A special expedition of archaeologists from several institutions has set out to explore the archaeological heritage of one of Bulgaria’s most remote municipalities, General Toshevo Municipality, located in the very northeast of the country along the land border with Romania.
History Museum in Bulgaria’s Sliven Receives Ancient Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Austrian Coins Seized from Treasure Hunters
The Regional History Museum in the eastern Bulgarian city of Sliven has received from the police and judicial authorities a total of 386 coins and other archaeological artifacts from different archaeological periods which have been confiscated from now sentenced treasure…
Bulgaria’s Plovdiv Funds Emergency Rescue Excavations of Ancient Thracian Burial Mound Targeted by Treasure Hunters
A total of BGN 40,000 (app. EUR 20,500) in funding have been allocated by the City Council in the southern Bulgarian city of Plovdiv for emergency rescue excavations of a large Ancient Thracian tumulus (burial mound) located near the town…
Bulgarian Prosecutors Charge 3 Men with Treasure Hunting Digs in Ancient Roman Military Camp Novae
Three men from the District of Pleven in Northern Bulgarian have been charged with treasure hunting on the territory of the Ancient Roman legionary base and city Novae located near today’s Danube city of Svishtov, Bulgaria’s Interior Ministry has announced.
Stolen Ancient Roman-Thracian Silver Mask Helmet Returned to Archaeology Museum in Bulgaria’s Plovdiv 20 Years Later
An Ancient Roman and Ancient Thracian mask helmet, which was stolen from the Museum of Archaeology in the southern Bulgarian city of Plovdiv back in 1995, has now been returned, Bulgaria’s Prosecutor’s Office has announced.
Bulgarian Treasure Hunter Receives Jail Sentence over Digs in Ancient Roman City Ratiaria
In a rare occurrence, a Bulgarian treasure hunter has been sentenced to a jail term for digging for archaeological artifacts in the Ancient Roman arsenal city of Colonia Ulpia Ratiaria located on the Danube in the northwestern District of Vidin.
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…
Bulgarian Lawyers Go on Trial for Treasure Hunting, Shattering Ancient Thracian Burial Mound
Bulgarian twin brothers Zhivko Chepishev and Zdravko Chepishev, who are lawyers and town councilors in the southern town of Devin, have gone on trial for treasure hunting and destroying an Ancient Thracian burial mound with an excavator back in 2011.
18th Century Ottoman Naval Cannon Seized from Black Sea Treasure Hunters Exhibited in Bulgaria’s Dobrich
An 18th century cannon with a gun carriage of the Ottoman Navy in the Black Sea has been restored and showcased by the Regional Museum of History in the city of Dobrich in Northeast Bulgaria.
Archaeologists Find Altars Showing Ancient Roman Colony Ratiaria in Bulgaria’s Archar Had Temple of Goddess Diana
The Ancient Roman colony Colonia Ulpia Traiana Ratiaria, whose ruins are located near the town of Archar, Vidin District, in Northwest Bulgaria, had a temple of the ancient goddess Diana, show the latest discoveries of the archaeologists who are carrying…
Bulgarian Archaeologists Find Bronze Belt Appliques of Ancient Bulgar Warrior at ‘Glorious Rock’ Fortress
Archaeologists have discovered bronze applications from the belt of an Ancient Bulgar warrior dating to the 9th-10th century AD, the height of the First Bulgarian Empire (632/680-1018 AD), during excavations of the Slavnata Kanara (Glorious Rock) Fortress near the towns…
Archaeologists Discover Treasure of Byzantine Bronze Coins at ‘Glorious Rock’ Fortress in Northeast Bulgaria
Bulgarian archaeologists from the Regional Museum of History in the northeastern city of Dobrich have found a treasure of 1,202 Byzantine silver coins from the 6th century AD during excavations of a little-known fortress in an area called Slavnata Kanara,…
Mysterious Benefactor from Maryland Returns Thracian Ax Labrys Smuggled from Bulgaria to USA
An Ancient Thracian labrys, a battle ax, which had apparently been smuggled out of Bulgaria to the United States, has been returned by a mysterious benefactor from the state of Maryland, who has shipped it with an anonymous parcel to…
