Medieval Settlement Uncovered in Bulgaria

VIDIN, BULGARIA—Archaeology in Bulgaria reports that an unidentified medieval settlement has been discovered in northwestern Bulgaria by a team of researchers, led by Elena Vasileva of Bulgaria’s National Archaeological Institute with Museum, who were investigating the path of a road construction project. The settlement, dated to the Second Bulgarian Empire (A.D. 1185–1396), straddled the Voynishka River and had been built on top of an Early Bronze Age settlement. Vasileva and her team members have uncovered 23 pits, eight kilns, six dwellings, a grave, and a moat. No other medieval fortifications have been found. Horse, sheep, goat, and poultry bones have been recovered from the pits, she added. Hundreds of medieval coins, arrow tips, knives, chisels, awls, scrapers, loom weights, bits of copper vessels, pottery, rings, bracelets made of metal and glass, earrings, buckles, crosses, and medallions were also unearthed at the site. To read about an ivory icon found at a Byzantine fortress in southeastern Bulgaria, go to "Iconic Discovery."