Just a couple of months after the discovery of a well-preserved Roman statue near Petrich, another statue has been found in Varna during construction work. What are some intriguing recent archaeological findings in your country?

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CypriotGreek@reddit

I doubt this is roman, could be Eastern-Roman (Byzantine) as the inscription is in Greek, and quite eligible Greek at that.

Γ’ ΜΑΡΙΟΣ ΕΡΜΟΓΕΝΗΣ ΖΩΝ

ΕΑΥΤΩ ΤΟ ΑΓΑΛΜΑ ΚΑΤΑΣΚΕΥΑΣΕΙ

Kind of sad that the Greek heritage and language has spread so far and has now just been called simply “Roman”

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Sort of related, i think the largest unearthed hippodrome is in Serbia what once was Sirmium now Sremska Mitrovica, the myth goes communists were offered a brand new city on a new location by USA so they can explore Sirmium which they refused.

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MrDDD11@reddit

In Sremska Mitrovica they dug up a Roman Imperial Palace, multiple parts of the City... Sirmium used to be the capital of the Empire for some time. Sadly the government in Sremska Mitrovica started covering the ruins you that you could see while walking around the city.

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dilirium22@reddit

Intriguing? no... Archeological findings in general? Yes, all the damn time!

Some parts of the country are so "bad" that it stalls or even stops construction entirely... It's not as bad as Rome, but it still sucks.

I know people will go ballistic with "B-But the heritage!!!" We need infrastructure and housing damn it! Not every roman outhouse or a medieval shed needs to be a UNESCO site and the country in general is not extremely built-up as is with plenty of protected areas and heritage sites... Just give people a side walk so they don't get mauled to dead by all the tourists.

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TheRealBucketCrab@reddit

ΙΜΑΝΟΣ ΕΡΜΟΓΕΝΗΣ ΖΩΝ ΕΑΥΤΩ Το ΑΓΑΛΜΑ ΚΑΤΣΚΕΥΑΣΕ(Ι?)

Imanos Hermesborn living self the statue constructed (misspelled ΚΑΤΑΣΚΕΥΑΣΕ?)

Not sure of this translation is right but my guy Ermogenis made a statue for himself while living

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Albanian_Trademark@reddit

Durres is a gold mine, sadly we poured concrete over it :((

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d2mensions@reddit

They found this mosaic in Durrës, half of it is still underground because its next to a cliff and there’s danger of landslides.

Before the Ottoman conquest travelers called Durrës “the city of Constantine” because of a grand equestrian statue of a Byzantine emperor. Unfortunately this statue is not found (if it still exists today). Durrës was a very important city in ancient times, I hope they find more archaeological sites.

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Tyragram@reddit

If you were to dig up Durrës you'd find so many ancient archaeological remains but that gets in the way of mfs who want to build big ugly concrete buildings. Our government defends these barbarians.

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OverallPhrase4623@reddit

I always think of what Durrës could have been if these disgusting politicians didn’t exist and if they didn’t build ugly stupid shit everywhere in the city. It was literally one of the most important cities of the region.

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SAUR-ONE@reddit

This is not Roman. It's Greek/Hellenic. I read greek word on statue.

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ayayayamaria@reddit

Roman refers to the period of creation, not the ethnicity of the creator (which is often impossible to know). Roman sculpture refers to statues created during the Roman era, not just stuff created by Roman hands.

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heretic_342@reddit (OP)

by Archaeologia Bulgarica:

Archaeologists from RIM - Varna have just informed us of this extraordinary find, valuable in the context of the studies of the ancient city: a marble sculpture from the Roman era, slightly larger than human height. A middle-aged man with a short beard is depicted wearing a toga and holding a scroll. There is a well-preserved inscription on the front part of the pedestal, and the name of the person depicted is clear from preliminary reading: G(ai) Marius Hermogenes. Only the right wrist is missing, and there is some minor damage to the face, so restoration is due before it goes on display. The statue was discovered during construction activities in an area with sand alluvium, outside the fortress walls of the ancient city. Construction entrepreneur Georgi Kraychev informed the museum about it in a timely manner. The preliminary dating of the sculpture is towards the end of the 2nd - the first half of the 3rd century.

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programmatisths@reddit

The name of the person depicted is clear from the preliminary reading, as stated. The inscription is in greek, and from what is visible, the text is:

Γ ΜΑΡΙΟΣ ΕΡΜΟΓΕΝΗΣ ΖΩ ΕΑΥΤΟ ΤΟ ΑΓΑΛΜΑ ΚΑΤΑΣΚΕΥΑΣΕΙ

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xperio28@reddit

Google: "Marius is probably of Etruscan origin and possibly related to the name of the Roman god Mars but was widely adopted from an early date in the Christian era as a male equivalent of the female Christian name Maria"

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xperio28@reddit

Hermogenes means "born of Hermes", it's a name usually attributed to philosophers and intellectuals and in the Roman Period with Christian leaders

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Fepotili@reddit

As a Greek I can read the text

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IamMefisto-theDevil@reddit

They found a Roman sarcophagus in Alba Iulia (Old Roman Apulum) a couple of years ago. It was in PERFECT condition.

Than some moron Dorel completely destroyed it with a forklift!!

Ask other Romanians what Dorel means in our culture. I’m too pissed off!!!

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voislav@reddit

They found a Roman tomb under a sidewalk on a very busy boulevard in Skopje. Probably everyday they find ancient artifacts during building roads and apartment buildings but they are swept away and the findings are sold.

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GSA_Gladiator@reddit

Varna probably contains a lot of ancient stuff we have yet to discover

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Liquid_Chrome8909@reddit

Man im so envyous of Bulgaria in this regard, the excavations receive way more funding than Romania, and you guys keep finding so much cool stuff, our politicians just dont give a damn or have their "priorities"

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Leontopod1um@reddit

Brother, if the situation in Romania is actually as you say worse than they are in Bulgaria, I solemnly offer you my most compassionate condolences.

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Sensitive-Mango7155@reddit

Absolutely! Imagine what they could find if they had the right funding

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dwartbg9@reddit

They have adequate funding more or less. They just can't destroy the city hahah. Like Plovdiv, it's known that the whole Hippodrome is underneath the main pedestrian street, most people have parts of it in their basements, like the infamous H&M store that has some of it shown. But the only way to show that and restore it's glory would mean destroying the whole central street. Sometimes sadly, important buildings are impossible to get fully restored because of such reasons.

This is what's always been uncovered of the Hippodrome, it stretches throughout the whole street where the buildings are.

This is what can be uncovered if they demolish around 1-2 kilometers off the central street

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DDHaz@reddit

Adequate funding?! Yeah right. Is that why there was a donation drive for funding for this year's Varna chalcolithic necropolis research. Or that only a third of the projects for financing the archaeological research were approved this year (since there wasn't enough funds dedicated from the Ministry of Culture). And even then, the vast majority of the project hasn't received the so-called funds and it's already mid-October and the working season has been sabotaged. We as well as other colleagues are currently 'self-financed' in the work we are doing.

If you are only referencing the site in the OP pic, then sure. But that site is a rescue archaeological excavation, in which case the state doesn't spend a dime - the private investor is footing the bill

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Besrax@reddit

I loved that when I visited Plovdiv last year. In Sofia, we have some ruins on display, but Plovdiv is at a whole another level.

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xperio28@reddit

Most of the Varna Necropolis which where the oldest gold in the world was found is kept buried for future generations to discover.

This is a map of the numerous archeological sites in Bulgaria, most of which have not been researched yet.

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Smooth-Fun-9996@reddit

Elite level history in Bulgaria

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Sensitive-Mango7155@reddit

We really need to study the Balkans more. Imagine what they’d find in our countries! (Aside from Greece)

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Alone-Monk@reddit

Truly! I mean, even in Slovenija, where we have the privilege of knowing quite a bit about our past, there is still so much we do not know about Emona and all those earlier settlements.

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Sudden_Shock8434@reddit

yes balkan history is too underrated ancient serbian empire ancient albanian empire femboy khanate cummans etc

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Sensitive-Mango7155@reddit

All of us need to go out there with shovels! Let’s go! We can do this ourselves

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Alone-Monk@reddit

In Ljubljana, they keep finding things every time they repave the roads, literally.

But by far, the coolest find was in what is so far the oldest wheel ever discovered which was also discovered in the Ljubljana region.

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heretic_342@reddit (OP)

It seems super interesting, thanks for mention it.

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xperio28@reddit

As far as I know Turkey is overflowing with ruins from many ages, you don't even need to dig. It really is the cradle of European civilization.

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pdonchev@reddit

I hope someone told those archeologists that they should not blink...