BURGAS, BULGARIA—Archaeology in Bulgaria reports that a modified horse’s shoulder blade dated to the thirteenth century A.D. has been found among other animal bones at the medieval fortress of Rusokastro on Bulgaria’s Black Sea coast by archaeozoologist Georgi Ribarov of the Burgas Regional Historical Museum. The bone bears butchering marks and three symmetrical burn marks. The study of the bone shows that the horse meat was eaten after it had been roasted, which changed the color of the bone. Then, the marks are thought to have been added by pressing a round heated iron against the bone surface. Similar marks have been found on lamb shoulder bones as part of a fortune-telling ritual, but such marks have not been previously encountered on horse remains in Bulgaria. Ribarov and his colleagues therefore think the circular marks may have been made as part of a ritual act. The excavation also uncovered the foundations of a hexagonal central fortress tower, a large section of the eastern fortress wall, and a rectangular tower on the outer fortress wall. To read about a Byzantine ivory icon recovered from Rusokastro, go to "Iconic Discovery."
