Byzantine Seal Unearthed in Bulgaria

SOFIA, BULGARIA—Archaeology in Bulgaria reports that a lead seal belonging to Yolande of Montferrat, Empress Irene of the Byzantine Empire, has been discovered in the Eastern Rhodope Mountains of southeastern Bulgaria, at the site of the medieval fortress Lyutitsa. Empress Irene was the second wife of Emperor Andronicus II Palaeologus, who ruled from A.D. 1282 to 1328. Violina Kiryakova of the National Museum of History said the image on one side of the seal depicts the empress herself, while the Christian Virgin Mary with the Christ child on her lap are depicted on the obverse. To read about a recent discovery at the site of a Roman villa in Bulgaria, go to “Mirror, Mirror.”