SOFIA, BULGARIA—The Sofia Globe reports that a ring has been found in a grave in a church at the site of Kokaliansku Urvich, a medieval fortress. Researchers from the National Archaeological Institute at the Bulgarian Academy of Science dated the burial, which had been dug directly into rock and included a plastered wooden coffin, to the late fourteenth century. The ring, found on the remains of the person’s hand, bears an image of an eagle, a medieval symbol of royal power, and is thought to link the wearer to the Bulgarian king Ivan Alexander. A rosette on the ring is thought to symbolize continuity and ancestral memory. Twelve graves have been uncovered in the church so far. To read about an ivory icon fragment uncovered in southeastern Bulgaria’s Byzantine fortress of Rusokastro, go to “Iconic Discovery.”
