Archaeologists from the Regional History Museum (ROM) – Yambol discovered a burial chamber with human remains. This happened during the survey of the “Malkoto Kale” fortress near Voden village, Bolyarovo municipality. It is obviously a crypt within a family chapel that belonged to representatives of the high Byzantine aristocracy from the middle of the 11th to the end of the 12th century, said the director of the museum, Ch. Stefan Bakardjiev, PhD, quoted by BTA.
The valuable finds were found days after the big fire in the area, which also affected the archaeological site itself, he added.
The revealed burial chamber is located on the ground floor of a room used as a chapel in the fortified residence, explained Stefan Bakrjiev. The human remains found in it are in anatomical order, including the skull of the burials. This allows us to make a detailed anthropological analysis and to establish the gender and age of the person laid in the crypt, he added.
The assumption of archaeologists is that the body was in a coffin, as evidenced by the discovery of a large amount of iron nails and staples scattered around.
Grave goods were also discovered around the skull. Among them, one half of a cross-encolpion (reliquary) is well preserved, in which pieces of the holy cross or relics of saints are usually placed. A Billonian coin of Emperor Manuel Comnenus (1143-1180) was also found, as well as a stone spindle vertebra. The latter finding leads the team to assume that the remains discovered are of a woman. “Most likely, the grave was broken during the capture of the fortress during the Third Crusade (1189 – 1190), which is why more valuable items are missing. It is a matter of hypotheses whether it was done by the inhabitants of the fortress themselves, fleeing from the invaders, or by the crusaders, who captured and destroyed it”, said the director of the Yambol Museum.
In the room used as a chapel, during this year’s excavations, an iron ephes (guard) of a sword, part of a spearhead and a significant amount of fragmented luxury and ordinary pottery were also found. Its purpose as a temple site is confirmed by the discovery of more than 7,000 fragments of wall paintings.
The current excavations confirmed the previously proposed hypothesis that the fortress “Malkoto Kale” near the village of Voden had the function of a residence of a high Byzantine aristocrat, pointed out Dr. Bakardjiev. According to him, this is evidenced by both the specific architecture and ornamentation, as well as the discovered nine correspondence seals. From them we learn the names and positions of the people who sent letters to the rulers of the fortress. The majority of the seals are of various representatives of the famous Byzantine Vatsi family, which ruled the area around Adrianople (today’s Edirne), pointed out the director of RIM – Yambol. From the same family is the emperor John III Duca Vatazzi, who ruled the Eastern Roman Empire in the first half of the 13th century.
The new findings were established by a team of archaeologists from RIM – Yambol, who continued the research of the fortress after the fire that broke out at the end of July this year. The students we worked with unfortunately missed the most interesting part because they had to interrupt their internship , because of the fire element, said the director of the Yambol museum. According to him, both the Malko Kale and the nearby medieval monastery were in the eye of the fire. Damaged, although not fatally, is a mural that was uncovered and preserved last year. The pieces will be reassembled and the mural installed in its original place, explained Stefan Bakrjiev.
At the moment, the inner part of the fortress has been explored to 90 percent, and the fortress walls surrounding it to 75 percent, the archaeologist also pointed out. The museum in Yambol is counting on help from the state for the final completion of the study of the Little Kale and subsequent restoration, conservation and exhibition of the site. The ultimate goal is for the fortress, together with the medieval monastery located 400 meters to the east, to be singled out as a common tourist product. Both sites have the status of real cultural assets of national importance since 2017.
The “Malkoto Kale” fortress is among the main objects studied by archaeologists in Yambolsko. Excavations began in 2008 after a mining excavation was found. Since 2011, they have been carried out almost entirely with the help of students from the University of Library Science and Information Technology, who are conducting their internships here under the guidance of Assoc. Dr. Diana Stoyanova. The last financial aid from the state was in 2019 before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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