Possible Early Cyrillic Text Found in Bulgaria

SOFIA, BULGARIA—A 1,100-year-old inscription written in Cyrillic has been found on a breastplate unearthed at a fortress site located on what is now the border between Greece and Bulgaria, according to a Live Science report. “The text was written on a lead plate worn on the chest to protect the wearer from trouble and evil,” said Ivailo Kanev of Bulgaria’s National Museum of History. The text mentions Pavel and Dimitar—Pavel is believed to have been a relative of Dimitar, who is thought to have been a member of the garrison stationed at the fortress, Kanev explained. Based upon the shapes of the letters and the location of the inscription within the fortress, Kanev has dated the artifact to between A.D. 916 and 927, during the reign of Tsar Simeon, who ruled the Bulgarian Empire from 893 to 927. To read about an artifact uncovered at a Byzantine frontier fortress in southeastern Bulgaria, go to "Iconic Discovery."