site.btaArchaeologists with Significant Finds in Valley of Thracian Kings

Major archaeological discoveries were made in the region of Ostrusha mound in the so-called Valley of Thracian Kings, Kazanlak Town Hall said on Wednesday. The tomb-cum-cult complex in what is now Central Bulgaria dates back to the 4th century BC. 

Salvation archaeological digs of a Roman era site registered to the southwest of the mound were completed on August 30. The digs are part of the municipality’s “The Thracian World” project under the Regions in Growth 2014-2020 Operational Programme and were carried out by a team of the local Iskra History Museum.

The experts uncovered two buildings, probably used for storage. Both have stone foundations, with walls continued with adobe or wicker construction. The pottery found allows preliminary general dating around the 3rd-4th century AD. 

That one of the buildings was probably used to store grain was confirmed by the in situ discovery of a large pithos. Pithoi were used for bulk storage, primarily for fluids and grains; they were comparable to the drums, barrels and casks of recent times. 

The Ostrusha pithos is quite large and very well preserved, which guarantees that it will be exhibited soon, Kazanlak Town Hall said.

According to instructions from the Culture Ministry, the pithos was taken to the Ostrusha mound protective building pending completion. There it is to undergo the respective research and will be published and exhibited.