site.bta800 Artefacts and New Floor Mosaics Found near Devnya in Last Archaeological Season

During their work last summer, archaeologists discovered nearly 800 artifacts in the archaeological reserve of Marcianopolis near Devnya, the director of the Museum of Mosaics, Ivan Sutev, told BTA. Excavations at the site continue.

Among the new discoveries are floor mosaics with early Christian design. It was found in the remains of a building. Archaeologists are not yet sure whether it was public building or it belonged to a rich Roman citizen.  

During the past archeological season, researchers restored bronze vessels discovered in the 1990s in a brick-walled tomb dating to the late 2nd - early 3rd century. They will be placed in a special display in the museum. The vessels had a ritual use and were related to the personality of the person buried, Sutev explained. They are richly decorated and the workmanship is exquisite, he added. The find includes a vessel for pouring liquids as offering to a deity, and a wine jug with a trefoil mouth (oenochoe). A simple kitchen pan was also found along with these. All this leads archaeologists to suggest that a Roman citizen of Marcianopolis may have been laid to rest in the tomb, but that he may have had more specific functions: a soldier, a cook or even a priest, Sutev said.

Smaller objects will be exhibited along with the vessels in the special showcase, including components from a folding magistrate's chair, which are made in the shape of lion and bear heads. They were cast in stone molds, he explained.

During excavations in 2023, pottery was found in the area around the basilica and that has now been restored. Among these are an exquisite crater-shaped pot for liquids as well as a mortarium vessel for liquids. These were in the building with the floor mosaics. Coins from the time of Emperor Theodosius II were also found scattered on the floor. 

In 447, Marcionopolis was captured and destroyed by Attila's Huns, who overran the entire Balkan Peninsula but failed to capture Constantinople. That is determined by 20 gold coins that were scattered on the floor of the building under study. On one side of the coins is the image of Theodosius II and on the other - the patron goddess of Constantinople. Among the coins discovered during the excavations in Marcianopolis were also those from the founding of the city in the 2nd century. The latter are dated to the 6th century, from the time of Emperor Justinian. 

Marcianopolis was the capital of the province of Moesia Inferior. From the year 366 to 369, it was the residence of Emperor Valens. From Marcianopolis, he ruled together with part of the Constantinople Senate, issued decrees and wrote his official correspondence.