29 June 2009 | The foundations of an ancient building were recently discovered during archaeological excavations of the ancient Roman town Marcianopolis in north-eastern Bulgaria, representatives of the Mosaics Museum in the town of Devnya told national media last week.

This is the first time in 20 years that the region is being excavated, according to Ivan Sutev, head of the museum. This year’s archaeological research, he added, is to be carried out in two phases – the first one began on May 13 and has already been completed.

The ancient Roman building’s foundations were discovered in the site’s western part, but Sutev declined to speak about them in detail, as more research of the discoveries needs to be carried out first.

In addition to the excavations, the director noted that archaeologists also plan a series of initiatives aimed at getting young people familiarised with Bulgaria’s cultural and historical heritage and the new archaeological finds.

Founded by Emperor Trajan in 106 AD at the location of a Thracian settlement and named after his sister, Ulpia Marciana, Marcianopolis was located where the present-day Bulgarian town of Devnya now stands. In the third and fourth centuries, the city was the capital of a Roman province and an Episcopal centre.

Previous archeological excavations of the area resulted in a number of significant finds, including mosaics, tombstones, pieces of statues, sarcophaguses and columns from buildings. A necropolis and tombs of important Roman and Thracian figures from the second and third centuries was also found in the vicinity, as was a treasure of 100,000 Roman silver coins.

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