Monumental building, silver coins discovered at medieval city Rusokastro

A monumental building, 7.60 metres wide and of still unknown length, has been uncovered near the inner southern fortress wall. It is the latest archaeological discovery of the year made by archaeologists from Burgas at the medieval city of Rusokastro, the Regional Historical Museum in Burgas (RIM-Burgas) has announced.

The walls are 1.1 metres thick and built of stone bonded with abundant mortar. The inner surfaces of the building’s walls are heavily coated with pink waterproof mortar. This suggests that the structure was used as a water reservoir or a storehouse for food supplies. It most likely represents the ground floor of a building located in the city’s central quarter, with a second, residential floor presumed to have stood above it.

A large number of portable archaeological finds have also been unearthed, including silver coins minted under Bulgarian Tsar Ivan Alexander, Venetian silver grosso coins known as matapanes, copper coins and many other artefacts. These are now being cleaned in the restoration workshop of the Burgas museum.

Rusokastro is included on the list of priority national sites receiving state funding to support cultural tourism in Bulgaria.

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Monumental stone staircase discovered at Rusokastro Fortress

Edited by Diana Tsankova