Milen Nikolov

In 2016 we studied completely the entrance room of the fortress of Rusokastro. We found that the first fortification of the rocky hill happened in the 6 th c. The fortified wall of that time was set directly on the rock. The construction was of stones with well-shaped faces joined with white mortar which also contained ceramic fragments. During that period the entrance was located between two orthogonal towers. Later, in the first half of the 13 th c. this fortification was dismantled and levelled to the foundations. Partly on it, but not repeating the layout of the 6 th c., a new fortified wall was built. The two orthogonal towers were abandoned and two new U-shaped entrance towers were built. Between them, the medieval entrance was formed. The floor level was raised up by about 0.80 m compared to that of the 6 th c. The entrance had two gates-a two-leaved one from the west and a cascade door from the east. A fortified wall was built between the two towers. Between the front of the north tower and the north end of this wall, a second two-leaved gate was located. This gate appears to be the earliest one chronologically. Thus, the area between the first and second two-leaved gates, which we conditionally called a "yard", was framed. It was very heavily guarded-the enemy forces penetrating there would be put under fire from the front fortified wall, the main fortified wall and from both towers. In the second half of the 13 th c. the north U-shaped tower was repaired and the front fortified wall was widened by about 0.90 m from outside, with its total width reaching 3.50 m. The southwest entrance of the fortress of Dimotika appears to be the most direct parallel to the entrance room of the fortress of Rusokastro at this stage of the study. Keywords: fortress of Rusokastro, fortified wall, orthogonal towers, 6 th сentury, 13 th сentury, front fortified wall, fortress of Dimotika 1 С настоящата работа изказвам дълбоката си почит и уважение към светлата памет на моя незабравим приятел, учител и колега Вальо Плетньов.

The present study focuses its attention on an exquisite monument of Byzantine applied art obtained in 2003 Ьу the museum of the town of Kotel from а fortress in the pass situated on the mediaeval road to Veliki Preslav. It is а steatite medallion (diametre 5.1 cm; thickness 0.7 cm) featuring а bust image of St. Nicholas who is named Ьу а Greek inscription-AGIOS NIKOLAOS. It was found in а fortress known as the "Rimskoto kale" and situated 8 kms from the village of Ticha

In 2007 Mr. Antoan Todorov published a
book written by his deceased uncle - reserve
colonel Dzhendo Zhechev Todorov, dedicated
to the history of his native village Sadovo. While
working on the publication, Mr. Todorov collected
additional information about the village from the
local residents. One of them gave him two rare
artifacts discovered near Sadovo. Those were
two lead lids of Theriac ampoules. Both artifacts
have their counterparts in Bulgaria. The first one is
from a medicine ampoule bought at the Pharmacy
of the Golden Head in Trieste, which was known
for the low quality of its production. The lid is very
well crafted and preserved, the inscription and the
images are very accurate. The only counterpart of
this artifact discovered so far in Bulgaria was found
in the village of Arbanasi. The second lid is from a
medicine ampoule produced by the Pharmacy of
the Golden Head in Venice. This is an original lid,
very well crafted, bearing accurate inscriptions and
beautiful images. This is the third original lid from
this pharmacy found on Bulgarian territory.

This article presents all available historical information and research related to the ruins on Peninsula Foros. The data
analysed is from medieval maps, travelogues and Ottoman sources, which mention Poros / Poro / Foros. Presented are
also the results of the archaeological excavations on the peninsula in 2008, 2009, 2013 and 2014; they provide evidence
that Foros was inhabited as early as the 1st millennium BC. At the end of the 2nd-3rd c. AD at least two Roman villas
and a port functioned on the peninsula. The most dynamic life here was in the 5th-6th c. AD. During this period, the
whole west coast of the peninsula was a built-up area. A large early Christian church, probably bishop, was erected at
the base of Cape Foros. In the 6th century a fortress wall with the length of 283 m fenced off the peninsula. 4 towers,
which were spaced just 54 m apart, guarded the front of the wall. At the very beginning of the 7th c. AD and probably
at the beginning of its second decade, the local population left Foros without any trace of military activities or natural
disaster. Later, in the 11th-13th c., the place was a major medieval village, from which two necropolis were discovered by
the archaeologists. In the 13th-14th century, at the flow of Mandra Lake, near locality Poda, a second medieval village
developed. It was situated east of the thick tower, which was surveyed in 2009. The tower was first constructed in the late
antiquity and rebuilt and used in the 14th-15th century.

Being defeated in 911 the Byzantine Empire quitted trying alone to eliminate Bulgaria
as a political and military factor. During the first war between Simeon and Byzantium in 894-
896, the Empire was already attracting the Magyars who were fighting the real battle in the
north-eastern part of Bulgaria. This manner of fighting proved most successful and shows the
way powerful Bulgaria could be defeated – by attracting an ally with a fast cavalry. The
combination of a cavalry and the Byzantine infantry guaranteed absolutely the defeat of the
Bulgarians. The hypothesis that during the war of 017 the Byzantine army was aiming exactly
at passing the furthest eastern parts of the Balkan Mountains and establishing in the region of
Varna-Marcianopolis where to unite with the cavalry of the pechenegues attracted by John
Vogas is presented in the article.

In this article the author relates new archaeological data about reclamation
of the Northern Slopes of the Kotel Mountain in the 1st century
BC. His attention is focused on sanctuaries from this period, found in
countrysides of Talim Tash, Chobra Tash, Churkov Dyal and Ali Boba.
The fact that these sanctuaries were situated in the foothills of the mountain
near passage places, gives the author good reasons to suppose that
permanent settlements of the Thracians, situated to the north of the contemporary
villages of Ticha, Filaretovo and Yablanovo, had been existing
even since the Early Iron Ages(XII-VIth Century BC.

An amulet was uncovered in 2008 during excavations at the Fortress oF Rusocastro. I’he
amulet was made oFa Fragment oF a wall oFa ceramic vessel. Its shape is oFa trapezium, and
was Formed hy detaching parts oFclay From the Fragment, cutting with a knife and polishing.
4'he amulet was uncovered in the remnants o f a house from the end of the 9"' - 10‘‘‘ c. that
was strongly destructed by diggings during the 1 Г'' - 12''' c. Images are cut into the obverse
and the reverse sides o f the amulet. They can be interpreted in different ways. The image on
the reverse side has an exact parallel - the same image is Found at an arm of a ceramic cross,
Found in the Early Medieval layers o f Abritus (end of the 9''' - beginning of the 11"' c.). Fhe
image at the obverse side may he treated as a single image or as three separate signs. In both
cases, there are close or distant parallels with Finds From the Early Medieval period. As in
other finds from the end o f the 9'*' - 1E'' c., the God’s name, may be Jesns Christ, is presented
at the obverse side of the amulet, thus ensuring its protective Function. The shape and the
material of the amulet are very uncommon. Similar finds from the same period are usually
made o f metal and are round or ellipse. Amulets with trapezium shape were much earlier -
from the 5''' - 6"' c. - and were related to the Near East Christian Gnostic traditions. It is likely
that the person who made the amulet from Rusocastro had exactly such an item as a model.

Thirty-nine iron arrowheads from the collection of Kotel Historical Museum are subject
to this study. They were bought from private persons and are found in the region of the Kotel
Mountains; some of them are of unspecified location. Most of the arrowheads were found in
the fortresses “Rimskoto Kale” and “Vida”, guarding the ancient road through the Kotel Pass
as well as the fortresses along the passes in the Varbishka Mountains. The arrowheads are typical
of the Late Antiquity, the Early Byzantine Period and the Middle Ages. Some of the arrowheads
have parallels with finds from exactly-dated archaeological complexes of the First Bulgarian
State as well as ones from the Avarian necropoleis in modem Serbia and Hungary.

The presented finds originate from archeological sites in the Kotel pass - one of the
important road connections between today's Northern and Northeastern Bulgaria
during the Antiquity and Middle Ages. These are several copper and bronze rings
from the period between the 10th and 16th century. Well-dated on the basis of
analogous finds from different investigations, they add to the idea of the material
culture of the population in the region during the Middle Ages.