Final Christogram Fragment Found in Bishop’s Basilica

SANDANSKI, BULGARIA—A fragment of a sixth-century marble slab bearing a Christian symbol has been recovered at the so-called Bishop’s Basilica in the ancient city of Parthicopolis in southwestern Bulgaria. The pieces of the image have been unearthed over the past 25 years and assembled by scholars at the Sandanski Museum of Archaeology. “This is a christogram, from the Greek letters chi rho which stand for Jesus Christ. It also features the Greek letters alpha and omega which also appear in the central part of the christogram. It is decorated with geometric elements,” Vladimir Petkov, director of the museum, explained in Archaeology in Bulgaria. The slab also bears an inscription of the name Anthim, who built the church and compared its beauty to Solomon’s temple in Jerusalem. Petkov adds that the carving served as a decoration in a room that may have been a scriptorium or a library. To read about a remarkable discovery of gold artifacts in Bulgaria, go to "Thracian Treasure Chest."