New archaeological season at Kokalyan Urvich

At the beginning of July, archaeologists from the National Museum of History and the Section for Medieval Archaeology of the National Archaeological Institute at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences started excavations in the citadel of the medieval fortress. Students from the Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”, Veliko Tarnovo University “St. Sv. Cyril and Methodius, Shumen University “Bishop Konstantin Preslavsky” and New Bulgarian University. The excavations will continue until the end of July and the funding is provided by the Sofia Municipality – Culture Directorate under a project of the National Museum of History. The aim of the researchers is to investigate the condition of the antiquities at the highest point of the fortification, where, according to Paisii Hilendarski’s History of Slavonic-Bulgarian “…seven years stood Tsar Shishman in Sredets and along Iskar. He had a monastery Urvich with a strong fortress, and water surrounded it…”

The National History Museum reminds that in 2022 is the 300th anniversary of the birth of Paisii Hilendarski and the research is dedicated to this notable personality. The project includes a series of lectures that will aim to present not only the results of the archaeological research, but also to remind about the high priest of the Bulgarian Renaissance. Information about Kokalyanski Urvich can also be found at: kokalyanskiurvich.com