site.btaNAIM-BAS Presents Murfatlar Poster Exhibition at Gothenburg University

The National Archaeological Institute with Museum at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (NAIM-BAS) will present a poster exhibition "The Invisible Traces of Murfatlar" at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden. The opening is on March 24, the hosts announced on their website.

The exhibition is based on an international interdisciplinary research project. It explores the medieval rock complex in Murfaltar, Romania.

NAIM-BAS is the project leader, which also involves the Department of Languages and Literatures of the University of Gothenburg and the Museum of National History and Archaeology in Constanta, Romania. The authors of the exhibition are Evgenia Komatarova-Balinova, Nina Stoilova, Antoaneta Granberg and Pantelis Charalampakis.

An exhibition of the same name presented by NAIM-BAS in Sofia in the summer of 2024 summarizes the results of the detailed studies of the rock monastery of Murfatlar in the region of Constanta, Romania, conducted in 2021 - 2023, initiated because of the real danger of destruction of the site as a result of natural processes.

NAIM-BAS says that the rock monastery near the village of Murfatlar is a monument of supranational importance, located in the historical-geographical region of Dobruja, where the heart of the First Bulgarian State was. The complex is located about 16 km west of Constanta. It was discovered in 1957, when research began. It occupies an area of ​​about one hectare and consists of four churches, two chapels, two crypts and four galleries, a rock recess and a reservoir.

"The main goal of the studies is the complete documentation of the most important and endangered sections of the monastery. As part of the expedition, three laser scans were carried out, thanks to which 3D models of the site were made, and about 500 graffiti were documented, of which 132 were inscriptions, twice as many as known so far.

On March 24, NAIM-BAS will host the presentation of the new issue of the LIK culture magazine of the Bulgarian News Agency. It is themed "Bulgaria's Cultural Heritage Travels the World" and is inspired by the exhibition "Ancient Thrace and the Ancient World: Treasures from Bulgaria, Romania and Greece", which was presented at the Getty Museum in Los Angeles under the auspices of Vice President Iliana Iotova. The exhibition opened in early November last year, and the exhibits return to Bulgaria this month. In addition to the US exhibition, the magazine also talks about a number of other exhibits that have been showing Bulgaria’s ancient history to foreign audiences since the middle of the last century.