1st Century BC Traces of Earliest Roman Presence in Bulgaria on Danube Discovered Halfway between Major Antiquity Cities Bononia (Vidin) and Ratiaria (Archar)
A vast archaeological site, which was an Ancient Roman settlement with traces from the earliest Roman presence in today’s Bulgaria in the 1st century BC and was located halfway between the large Roman Empire cities of Bononia (today’s Vidin) and…
4th Century Bishop’s Basilica with Marvelous Early Christian Bird Mosaics Opened for Visitors Bulgaria’s Plovdiv in Big Restoration Project with US Funding
The partly restored ruins of the 4th century Bishop’s Basilica, or Great Basilica, of the Ancient Thracian and Roman city of Philipopolis, with its almost fully restored fabulous Early Christian flood mosaics with birds and other motifs, has been opened…
Archaeologists Discover Western Gate of Ancient Roman, Byzantine Fortress Bononia in Bulgaria’s Danube City Vidin
The massive western fortress gate and seemingly the main entrance of the Ancient Roman and Early Byzantine city of Bononia has been discovered by archaeologists in the city of Vidin in Northwest Bulgaria, on the Danube River.
3,200-Year-Old Cyclopean Masonry Fortress Found in South Bulgaria, Shows Ancient Thrace Was Part of Mycenaean Civilization
An ancient fortress which is 3,000 – 3,200 years old and was built with the so called Cyclopean masonry has been found by archaeologists in Bulgaria’s Rhodope Mountains, near the town of Zlatograd and the border with Greece, and is…
Decagonal Roman Fortress Tower from Ancient Bononia Unearthed in Bulgaria’s Danube City Vidin
The ruins of a decagonal fortress tower from the Ancient Roman city of Bononia – said to be the largest Roman fortress on the Lower Danube – have been uncovered by archaeologists in the city of Vidin in Northwest Bulgaria.
Archaeologists May Have Discovered Ancient Thracian, Roman Town Scaptopara, Precursor of Bulgaria’s Blagoevgrad
Archaeologists have discovered the ruins of a large town from the time of the Roman Empire hypothesizing that it might be the Ancient Thracian and Roman settlement of Scaptopara, the predecessor of today’s city of Blagoevgrad in Southwest Bulgaria, whose…
Archaeologists Surprisingly Find Western Fortress Wall of Roman Colony Ratiaria in Northwest Bulgaria Has Survived Treasure Hunters’ Bulldozers
Archaeologists excavating the Ancient Roman city of Ratiaria in Northwest Bulgaria, which has been brutally looted and destroyed by treasure hunters in the 1990s and 2000s, have surprisingly discovered that the Roman colony’s western fortress wall has survived almost intact…
Bulgarian, Turkish Man Sentenced in Shumen for Trafficking Roman Artifacts from Middle East
A Bulgarian and a Turkish citizen have confessed their guilt in the smuggling of dozens of Ancient Roman artifacts, and possibly a Sumerian slab, after their arrest in a police operation almost two years ago generated international interest.
Archaeologists Find 2nd Antiquity Fortress at Prehistoric, Thracian Rock Shrine near Bulgaria’s Angel Voyvoda
A second previously unknown Antiquity fortress has been found by archaeologists a prehistoric and later Ancient Thracian rock shrine in an area known as Hasara near the town of Angel Voyvoda, Mineralni Bani Municipality, Haskovo District, in Southern Bulgaria.
Bulgarian Archaeologists Seek to Restore 1980s Research Cooperation with Italy in Bid to Save Looted Ancient Roman City Ratiaria
The Ancient Roman city of Ratiaria in Northwest Bulgaria, which has been brutally looted and destroyed by treasure hunters over the past 25 years, could still be rescued, and a renewed research cooperation with Italy, which existed back in the…
Archaeologists Discover Italian Red Pottery, First Doric Capital in Looted Ancient Roman City Ratiaria in Northwest Bulgaria
Red pottery (terra sigillata) imported from the Italian Peninsula and for the first time a Doric capital have been discovered by archaeologists during the brief and underfunded 2016 excavations of the Ancient Roman city of Ratiaria in Northwest Bulgaria, an…
Authorities Seek to Reassure Archaeologists of Policing of Utterly Looted Ancient Roman City Ratiaria
Local authorities and the police in the Vidin District in Northwest Bulgaria have sought to reassure of their policing efforts the archaeologists working on the excavation of the huge Ancient Roman city of Ratiaria, an archaeological site which has been…
Thracian Shrine with Newly Discovered Roman Fortress Dates Back to Trojan War Period, Archaeologists Find
The Ancient Thracian rock shrine in the area known as Hasara near the town of Angel Voyvoda in Southern Bulgaria dates back to the end of the Bronze Age and the beginning of the Iron Age, i.e. roughly the period…
Archaeologists Find Roman Fortress, Early Christian Church at Prehistoric, Thracian Rock Shrine near Buglaria’s Angel Voyvoda
The ruins of an Ancient Roman fortress have been discovered by archaeologists at a prehistoric and later Ancient Thracian rock shrine near the town of Angel Voyvoda, Mineralni Bani Municipality, Haskovo District, in Southern Bulgaria.
Bulgaria’s Dimovo to Finally Build Open-air Museum of Ratiaria – Huge Ancient Roman Danube Colony Obliterated by Looters
The Town Council of Dimovo Municipality on the Danube in Northwest Bulgaria has voted to establish an open-air museum at the Ancient Roman colony Ratiaria, a huge Roman arsenal city which has been brutally destroyed by treasure hunters over the…
2 Treasure Hunters Arrested While Destroying Ancient Roman City Ratiaria near Bulgaria’s Archar
Two treasure hunters have been arrested in the latest reported encroachment against the ruins of the once glorious Ancient Roman colony Ratiaria (Colonia Ulpia Traiana Ratiaria) located on the right bank of the Danube near the town of Archar in…
Vicious Treasure Hunters Shatter Newly Excavated Ruins of Ancient Roman City Ratiaria Defying Archaeologists
The newly discovered archaeological structures in the Ancient Roman city of Colonia Ulpia Traiana Ratiaria located on the Danube, near the town of Archar in Northwest Bulgaria, have been viciously destroyed by treasure hunters apparently seeking to defy the hard…
Archaeologists Find Building’s Portico, Governor’s Residence Hypocaust in Ancient Roman Colony Ratiaria near Bulgaria’s Archar
The portico (porch at the entrance of a building or a colonnade) of 4th century AD Roman building has been discovered during the October 2015 excavations of the Ancient Roman city of Colonia Ulpia Traiana Ratiaria in Bulgaria’s northwestern town…
Archaeologists Resume Excavations of Ancient Roman Colony Ratiaria in Bulgaria’s Archar with Limited Government Funding
The archaeological excavations of the Ancient Roman colony Colonia Ulpia Traiana Ratiaria in Bulgaria’s northwestern town of Archar on the Danube River have been resumed as of October 8, 2015, with limited funding from the Bulgarian government.
Bulgarian Archaeologist Concludes Roman Artifacts Seized from Smugglers Authentic, Originated in Asia Minor and the Middle East
The 19 statues and slabs which were seized from several treasure hunters and antique traffickers, including a citizen of Turkey, by the Bulgarian police in the northeastern city of Shumen back in March 2015 are fine examples of Ancient Roman art…
Bulgaria’s Culture Ministry Gives Zero Funding for Excavation of Roman Fortress Bononia in Vidin
Bulgaria’s Ministry of Culture has allocated no government funding whatsoever for the supposed continuation of the archaeological excavations of the Ancient Roman fortress Bononia in the northwestern Danube city of Vidin.
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.
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.
Archaeologists Discover Ancient Roman Villa in Rescue Excavations near Bulgaria’s Mursalevo
An Ancient Roman villa dating back to the reign of Roman Emperor Constantine the Great (r. 306-337 AD) has been discovered by Bulgarian archaeologists during rescue excavations along the projected route of the Struma Highway near the town of Mursalevo,…
Bulgaria’s Archaeological Excavations Underfunded by Culture Ministry, Archaeologist Says
Bulgaria’s Ministry of Culture will provide only BGN 500,000 (app. EUR 255,000) for the numerous archaeological excavations throughout the country in 2015, archaeologists Olya Milanova from the Regional Museum of History in the northwestern city of Vidin, has pointed out.
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.
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…
