Roman Marble Table Unearthed in Bulgaria

VARNA, BULGARIA—According to an Archaeology in Bulgaria report, more than 100 pieces of a household table dated to the fourth century A.D. have been found in one of the towers at the Petrich Kale Fortress, which is located on a plateau in northeastern Bulgaria near the coast of the Black Sea. Researchers from the Varna Museum of Archaeology think the table may have been used by a high-ranking Roman official. “It is a round table made of white marble, and is known in scientific literature as a table from the ‘raven beak’ type due to its typical profile, with its top slightly curled inwards,” said team member Maria Manolova-Voykova. Similar tables have been found in Greece and Turkey, she explained, but this is the first of its type to be uncovered in Bulgaria. Once it is restored, the table will be put on display in the Varna Museum of Archaeology. To read about excavations of a Roman villa in northern Bulgaria, go to "Mirror, Mirror."