Stone Clock from the First Bulgarian Kingdom Discovered

Stefan Nikolov, international.ibox.bg

Bulgarian citizens have accidentally come across two stone blocks near a Proto-Bulgarian fortress near Mogila village, Kaspichan municipality. The fortress is a part of the system, constructed for the defense of the capital Pliska. It closely resembles the Madara fortress, but is considerably smaller.

At the initial investigation enormous treasure-hunter decays can be seen, reaching a depth of 4 meters. Up to this moment no regular archeological studies have been carried out, but just on-foot surveillance by the late Professor Rasho Rashev.

Typical Proto-Bulgarian graffiti are inscribed on one of the blocks, showing horsemen with their armory. Several horses and a central figure of a horseman holding a long lance can be clearly seen.

The other stone block portrayed a "stone clock" or a "stone calendar". This monument represents a semicircle, divided into 10 equal parts, plus two smaller parts marking its beginning and end. On the better preserved part the Greek letters "alpha", "beta", "gamma", "delta" and "eta" can be seen, which define each of the equal parts. A Medieval cross is inscribed in the center, marking the central axis of the "clock".

Such types of monuments are extremely rare for the early Medieval Age, experts from the National Historical Museum comment.