site.btaUnderwater Archaeologists Discover Dozens of Glass Vessels Near Burgas

A total of 112 new glass vessels were discovered during the underwater archaeological research at Cape Chiroza in the Fisherman port Chengene Skele, said the Burgas Regional History Museum on Tuesday. 

Divers also surveyed four other areas in the bay and found fragments of late antique and medieval amphorae, some of which dating from the 12th-13th century. Fragments of ceramic vessels from the 18th and 19th centuries, as well as parts of late antique amphorae, were found in the area around the Monastery Port, which is located opposite the island of St Anastasia. An iron horn from an anchor was also discovered.

The newly discovered finds are an important source of information about the understudied topic of glass consumption, trade and production in the Balkans during the Late Ottoman period. Since 2020, underwater archaeologists have been working in the area, where a ship might have shipwrecked in the late 18th or early 19th century. The Burgas Museum, which organizes the underwater research, recalled that on the first days of the study years ago, researchers discovered fancy glassware and several whole glass cups and ceramic vessels from the late Hellenistic era on the sunken ship, which most likely traveled from Italy. The question of the exact dating of the glass objects and the possible shipwreck remains open, especially since the area around the reef has not been further explored, said the museum.

The new finds will be exhibited in the Archaeological Museum in Burgas.