site.btaStone Andirons Named Exhibit of the Month for April at National Archaeological Museum

Stone andirons dated between the late 3rd and early 2nd century BC are the exhibit of the month for April of the National Archaeological Institute with Museum at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (NAIM-BAS), the museum said.

The andirons are ornately decorated elements of ritual hearths shaped as a stylized horse's head. They are among the most impressive finds from a rescue archaeological excavations of a site in the Aladzhovi Krushi locality, Municipality of Ihtiman (Western Bulgaria), led by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Bozhidar Draganov of the Paisii Hilendarski University of Plovdiv in 2023. 

The site covers an area of about 30 decares, of which 25 are under the easement of a newly built section of the Sofia – Plovdiv railway line. Over 350 structures were recorded, the majority associated with the Late Iron Age. The findings include pottery sherds, imported black-glazed ware, amphorae, hearths, ritual fireplaces, miniature ceramic vessels, anthropomorphic figurines, spindle whorls, loom weights, agricultural tools, and adornments, among others.

The andirons form a collection of intact and fragmented artefacts, blanks, and scrap material, which provides valuable data on their manufacture and precise dating.

The exhibit is part of a temporary exhibition titled Bulgarian Archeology 2023, which is on display in the NAIM-BAS Central Hall until May 26, 2024. Organized by NAIM-BAS with the support of 23 museums, the exhibition presents the most impressive discoveries from the last archaeological season. It includes 30 objects illustrating the development of cultures in the present-day Bulgarian lands from the Neolithic period (6000 BC) to the Revival (19th century). Among the exhibits are gold, silver, and bronze ornaments, ceramic anthropomorphic figures and vessels, bronze figurines, glass vessels, tools, weapons, and coins.