Bulgaria: Archaeologists Discovered Unique Vessel Fragment in Trapezita

BalkanTravellers.com

14 September 2009 | A unique fragment of a twelfth-century vessel was discovered by archaeologists during excavations of the southern fortress wall of the Trapezita Hill in the central Bulgarian town of Veliko Tarnovo.
The vessel fragment contains parts of the written name and the image of its proprietor, national media reported today.

The sgraffito technique, which was used to make the object, is what makes the find unique, archaeologist Mirko Robov explained. This technique involves the application to an unfired ceramic body two successive layers of contrasting slip, and then scratching so as to produce an outline drawing.

According to Robov, human images on sgraffito ceramics found in excavations over the past decades are very few, and those of secular persons are even fewer.

The writing of the name, however, makes the discovery one of a kind. Three letters to the left of the image of the face have been preserved.

The vessel belonged to a high-rank citizen of Trapezita, who used to serve dishes in the vessel with his own image, the archaeologist explained.

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