Several days ago archaeologists from the Bulgarian-German archaeological expedition near the village of Novgrad, Tsenovo municipality in the central part of Northern Bulgaria, came across a burial pit with a small human skeleton in a strange position: on its stomach, with its legs bent. The working hypothesis of the specialists from National Archaeological Institute with Museum \u2013Bulgarian Academy of Sciences and from the University of T\u00fcbingen is, that it is a representative of the local Thracian population from the second half of the I millennium BC, that is from the late Iron Age. Ceramic pieces from vessels were also found, which will help to be dated more accurately. The find is very interesting, as preserved funerals from this period are rare in the territory of present-day Northern Bulgaria.<\/p>\n
According to the preliminary conclusions of Assoc. Prof. Dr. Victoria Ruseva from the Institute of Experimental Morphology, Pathology and Anthropology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences a skeleton of a 7-year-old child with health problems during its lifetime lies in the pit. There are organic traces of a band on his skull \u2013 possible dressing or decoration.<\/p>\n
The Bulgarian-German archaeological expedition works in this area under contract, signed between National Archaeological Institute with Museum at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences and the University of T\u00fcbingen. The place was chosen not accidentally \u2013 it is close to the researched for many years (again by an international team) Roman fortress of Iatrus<\/em> at the mouth of the Yantra River. The main purpose of the expedition now is to trace what happened on these lands from the 1st millennium BC until the 1st millennium AD. The period covers the life of the local Thracian tribes and the establishment of the Roman power, until the transition to the early middle ages and the founding of the Bulgarian state in AD 681.<\/p>\n See a video from the discovery spot with a comment by Dr. Lyuba Traykova (NAIM), deputy head of the excavations near the village of Novgrad:<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n