site.btaArchaeologists Discover Previously Unknown Fortification in Vidin's Baba Vida Fortress

Archaeologists discovered a previously unknown fortification in the Baba Vida Fortress in Vidin, archaeologist Dr. Vanya Stavreva from the Regional History Museum said on Wednesday.

The excavation area is only 25 square metres, but the fortification is completely new and unknown to date for the historical topography of Vidin. "Although we have discovered very little of it, the working hypothesis is that it is part of a tower wall, which we currently date to the early Byzantine period, around the 6th century", she noted.

Stavreva pointed out that this section is extremely promising and will bring new knowledge about the historical past of Vidin, adding that it is possible that the discovered facility is part of another fortress wall around Baba Vida with a larger perimeter, which is visible on old maps (of Vidin).

"There are many questions about the stages of construction of the Kaleto Fortress defense system around the city, including whether the construction began during the Austrian presence in Vidin from 1689-1690 and was then completed by the Ottoman Empire", Stavreva said, noting that these archaeological excavations will provide answers to these questions.

Stavreva recalled that masonry was discovered during the implementation of a project for the restoration and conservation of the fortress walls around the beach in 2024. “We had to do a rescue archaeological survey and discovered a fairly massive tower, which we examined at a depth of three metres. (...) This tower is now almost covered over and cannot be seen. But it is documented and we will look for the connection between it and what we are studying here,” she specified.

Fionera Filipova from the archeological team emphasized that the coins found in the area show that in the 11th century Vidin was a very important fortress that protected the interests of the new conquerors from the Northwest. "There are quite a few coins found that have not yet been studied, as many of the archaeological structures have been destroyed by water. Here, the deposits on the coins are large due to the annual flooding of the moat during high waters of the Danube River," she noted.

The archaeological research in the moat next to the Baba Vida Fortress was carried out by eight workers in 20 working days. The excavations were financed by Vidin Municipality and the Regional History Museum, where the restoration of the movable cultural values ​​will be carried out.