Archaeologists came across an exceptional find in the first Bulgarian capital Pliska – a fragment of a stone inscription from the pagan period of the First Bulgarian State, as well as traces of specific burial practices.
The new discoveries rewrite the knowledge about the secret underground passages and the pagan customs of the early Bulgarians. Field activities are developing intensively during the current archaeological season, supported by targeted state funding for priority national sites.
The secret of the underground passage and the lost ethnonym
During the research in a sector of the so-called secret passages – complex underground passages that once connected the ruler's palace with key points in the Inner City and the fortress wall – the team discovered the final filling of the facility. The head of the archaeological excavations, Ch. Asst. Prof. Dr. Petar Parvanov, explains that the passageway underwent at least two large-scale collapses and subsequent repairs before being finally abandoned and intentionally filled with construction rubble from demolished earlier buildings.
It was in this archaeological context that the researchers discovered a fragment of a proto-Bulgarian stone inscription – the first such find in Pliska in over 20 years. Scientists date the artifact to the first half of the 9th century (the pagan period of the rule of the khans Krum or Omurtag).
The root of the Bulgarian ethnonym („Ugar“) is read on the stone, but due to the lack of a suffix, it is still not possible to say for sure whether the text refers to the state of Bulgaria or the Bulgarian people themselves. According to experts, this type of official inscriptions usually contain references to specific historical events and the life of the aristocracy of that time.
Disturbing funeral rites under the spotlight
In addition to the epigraphic monument, this year's research has also brought to light unusual funeral rites that are causing serious interest among the scientific community. The finds shed new light on the rituals of the transitional period of the Bulgarian Middle Ages, testifying to specific beliefs and treatment of the deceased, which differ from standard Christian or familiar pagan practices.
The systematic excavations and subsequent field conservation on the territory of the National Historical and Archaeological Reserve (NIAR) “Pliska“ are part of the large-scale program for the preservation of the national cultural heritage. For the research this year, the Council of Ministers allocated a specialized budget of 921,000 euros, distributed among seven key historical sites in the country.