Unique Archaeology Site Discovered During Metro Construction in Bulgaria’s Capital
BalkanTravellers.com
Construction work was frozen temporarily, until a special experts commission – appointed by culture minister Vezhdi Rashidov, inspects the site and comes up with measures that would allow construction to proceed while preserving the finds.
Rashidov, along with Sofia’s Chief Architect Petar Dikov, inspected the site on Tuesday, under the guidance of archaeologist Snezhana Goryanova from the National Archaeology Institute.
The new findings, located right next to the TZUM department store, include the remains of a church with preserved murals dating back to the twelfth century, the remains of early medieval buildings dating to the fifth and sixth centuries and several medieval graves.
Stating he was impressed with the discoveries, Rashidov said that the authorities have to do whatever is needed in order to preserve them.
According to Goryanova, a temporary shelter must be constructed in order to preserve the finds.
There are, according to archaeologist Mario Ivanov, two ways to preserve the discoveries – either by taking them out of the site and placing them in a museum, or by keeping them on their original spot and putting the metro line deeper below them.
Construction of the second metro line is going to continue only after a decision has been made on what to do with the finds, Sofia’s chief architect Dikov said and promised to comply with the recommendations of the experts of the Ministry of Culture and the Archaeological Institute.
This is the latest archaeological find in downtown Sofia, which is rich in remains from Antiquity to the Middle Ages. Just a stone’s throw away, near the Presidency and Sheraton Hotel, stands the Early Christian red-brick rotunda of St. George [in the opening photograph], which dates to the fourth century and is considered the oldest preserved building in Sofia.
As BalkanTravellers.com reported last year, another project intends to display under glass the remains of the fourth-century palace of Emperor Constantine the Great, currently located underneath Sofia’s Sheraton Hotel.
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excellent smugs