Archaeologist finds rare high medieval Bulgarian inscription in monastery

Journey.bg, 21 Sept. 2007

Bulgarian archaeologist Professor Kazimir Popkonstantikov announced Wednesday he has found a thrilling inscription in ancient Bulgarian language at the wall of a stone tomb near the town of Veliki Preslav.

The inscription on the tomb's wall was found during his research of a monastery dated back to the 10th century.

This is Professor Popkonstantinov's second finding of such an inscription after more than 50 years. The inscription informs that the monk Sinkel was buried there, and while still alive he served as the personal secretary of the patriarch.

Popkonstantinov stumbled upon the inscription while researching the monastery. The stone plate which covers the tomb is 2,2 metres long and 1,2 wide. The sepulchre chamber is divided into two sections with different size, where monks from the monastery had been buried.

Some 55 years ago, Popkonstantinov found his first high medieval Bulgarian inscription in the same monastery's church, which is known by the name of the Church if Ichirubuil Mostich.

Mostich was the foreign minister of the First Bulgarian Empire but at the age of 80 he became a monk and built went to the monastery in Veliki Preslav.

The unique finding of Professor Popkonstantinov confirms once again the important role of the monastery, located in the outer city of the ancient capital.

Veliki Preslav was the capital of the First Bulgarian Empire from 893 to 972 and one of the most important cities of medieval Southeastern Europe. The ruins of the city are situated in modern northeastern Bulgaria, some 20 kilometres southwest of the regional capital of Shumen, and are currently a national archaeological reserve.

It was initially founded and functioned as a Slavic settlement until its fortification at the beginning of the 9th century. The proximity to the then Bulgarian capital of Pliska led to the fast development and expansion of Preslav during the reign of the Khans Krum and Omurtag. By the time of the coronation of Khan Boris I in 852, Preslav had turned into an important strategic military centre and was the seat of the Ichirguboil.