Rubble-Filled Roman Building in Bulgaria Dates to Goth Invasion

PLOVDIV, BULGARIA—Archaeology in Bulgaria reports that a Roman-era public building has been found under a medieval cemetery in the ancient city of Philipopolis, which is located in what is now southern Bulgaria. The building was filled with rubble. Archaeologist Maya Martinova of the Plovdiv Museum of Archaeology and her team recovered a fragment of an Ionic capital, pottery, bronze lamps, and a bronze door key from the site. She suggested the Roman building could have been destroyed during the invasion of 70,000 Goths sometime between A.D. 250 and 251. “Back then the entire city was burned down and damaged,” she said. In July of A.D. 251, the Goths eventually defeated the Romans at the Battle of Abritus, killing Emperor Trajan Decius, and his son and co-emperor, Herennius Etruscus. To read about another recent find in Bulgaria, go to “Iconic Discovery.”