Archaeologists uncover intact Thracian settlement in Bulgaria

September 21st, 2009 DOHA - Archaeologists have found ninth century settlements in northwest Qatar, which remained untouched for centuries under the sands of Murwab. According to a report in The Peninsula, a team of archaeologists is excavating the 1.6 km long and 0.5 km wide site, which is a remarkable village of 220 houses, two forts and two mosques.

August 28th, 2009 STOCKHOLM - Swedish archaeologists have announced the find of a 7th century burial ship, the oldest of its kind to be discovered in Scandinavia. According to a report in The Local, the ship, thought to be from the Vendel era (550-793) of Swedish prehistory, was found in Sunnerby on the island of Kallandso in Lake Vanern in central Sweden.

August 24th, 2009 SOFIA - Archaeologists in Bulgaria have discovered a unique medieval Byzantine seal at the site of the Princely Monastery near the Eastern city of Varna, dating back to the 10th century. According to a report by the Sofia News Agency, the seal is dated back to the 10th century and belonged to the Byzantine dignitary Antonius, who was an imperial protospatario in Constantinople.

August 19th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A team of archaeologists in Bulgaria has found two golden rings, along with other priceless finds. The discovery was made by the TEMP expedition led by archeologist Diana Dimitrova, wife of the late Georgi Kitov, one of the most prominent Bulgarian archeologists.

August 14th, 2009 SOFIA - A team of archaeologists has discovered over 7,500 fragments of frescos during excavations in the church of the monastery complex in the Karaach Tepe area near the town of Varna in north-western Bulgaria. According to a report in Balkan Travellers, in addition to the fresco fragments, the archaeologists discovered parts of saints' clothes and letters with their names, national media reported today.

August 5th, 2009 BUDAPEST - Archaeologists of Debrecen's Deri Museum in East Hungary have discovered 4,000-year-old remains of a settlement during earth works connected to a local sewage treatment project. A team of 35-40 archaeologists are working in an area of two hectares, and have now identified the traces of three phases of the settlement: one in the early Bronze Age between 2700-2500 BC, the Sarmatian period around the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD as well as the youngest phase in the 8th and 9th centuries, leader of the excavations Krisztian Szilagyi told MTI.

August 3rd, 2009 SOFIA - Bulgaria plans to replace the lev with Europe's single currency, the euro, in 2012 or 2013, Finance Minister Simeon Djankov told daily 24 Chasa Monday. "We have a chance in the last year of the mandate to introduce the euro," Djankov said.

August 3rd, 2009 SOFIA - The second archaeological expedition to excavate the Bulgarian medieval fortress Krakra near the western city of Pernik has begun. According to a report by the Sofia News Agency, the expedition is part of the initiative "Preserve the Bulgarian (Heritage)" of President Georgi Parvanov, who is himself a native of Pernik.

July 27th, 2009 SOFIA - A team of archaeologists has found a sanctuary in Central Bulgaria where the nymph cult used to be celebrated in ancient times. According to a report in the Balkan Travellers, the sanctuary was found by archaeologists in the vicinity of the Nicopolis ad Istrum ancient site, located near the town of Veliko Tarnovo in central Bulgaria.

July 19th, 2009 Italian co-driver dies in rally crash in BulgariaSOFIA, Bulgaria — Rally organizers say an Italian co-driver has died after a race car he was in went off the road and slammed into a tree. Rally Bulgaria director Dimitar Agura said Flavio Gugelmini died on the spot after the Peugeot 207 car driven by Brian Lavio of Switzerland hit a tree.

July 16th, 2009 LONDON - Archaeologists from Berkshire, UK, have discovered evidence of an Iron Age town underneath the remains of a Roman settlement in north Hampshire, which they say could be Britain's earliest Iron Age towns with a planned layout. According to a report by BBC News, the discovery was made by the University of Reading's Archaeology Department, which has been excavating at the Silchester Roman site, Calleva Atrebatum, since 1997.

July 6th, 2009 Israeli archaeologists discover ancient quarryJERUSALEM — Israeli archaeologists have uncovered an ancient quarry where they believe King Herod extracted stones for the construction of the Jewish Temple 2,000 years ago, the Israel Antiquities Authority said Monday. The archaeologists believe the 1,000-square-foot (100-square-meter) quarry was part of a much larger network of quarries used by Herod in the city.

June 28th, 2009 WASHINGTON - The ruins of the oldest human settlement in the Aegean Islands found so far have been unearthed in archaeological excavations by a team of Greek, Italian and American archaeologists on the island of Limnos. The Aegean Islands are a group of islands in the Aegean Sea, with mainland Greece to the west and north and Turkey to the east.

June 16th, 2009 SOFIA - Archaeologists have discovered a previously unknown settlement from the Roman Era in the Mentesheto area near the town of Varna on Bulgaria's northern Black Sea coast. According to a report in BalkanTravellers.com, the discovery was made by archaeologists Aleksadar Michev and Teodor Rokov, who were exploring a stone structure reminiscent of a 'dolmen' - a typical Thracian tomb from the Early Iron Age.

February 26th, 2009 SOFIA - Discovered under centuries-old layers of dirt in 1948, then submerged under 20 metres of water, the ancient city of Seuthopolis is to emerge once again in a bold rescue project in Bulgaria. The magnificently preserved city, founded by the Thracian king Seuthes III in 323 BC, was discovered in central Bulgaria during the construction of a dam on the Tundzha river.