Sat, May 26 2012

Archaeology: Sixth-century cross reliquary found at Bulgaria's Perperikon

Thu, Aug 25 2011 12:35 CET

byThe Sofia Echo staff

2734 Views
Archaeology: Sixth-century cross reliquary found at Bulgaria's Perperikon

An archive photo of archaeologist Nikolai Ovcharov at a 2004 dig at a site in Perperikon.

Photo: BTA

A hermetically-sealed cross that also served as a reliquary, said to date from the fifth to the sixth century CE, has been found at Bulgaria’s ancient holy site of Perperikon.
 
The cross was reported by Bulgarian National Television to be in good condition. The find was decorated on the outside with early Christian symbols.
 
It was shown to journalists at a presentation at the Kurdjali Museum by representatives of the archaeological team examining the ancient city.
 
The contents of the cross-reliquary would be established only after examination by specialists at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences headquarters in the capital city Sofia.
 
Similar reliquaries were used to keep items purported to be fragments of the relics of saints, the blood of Jesus, pieces of the cross on which Jesus was crucified, and more rarely, hair or tears from Mary, the mother of Jesus, according to the Bulgarian National Television report.
 
Archaeologist Professor Nikolai Ovcharov said that an amulet said to have contained hair from Mary and that was worn by ninth-century emperor Charlemagne was kept in a cathedral in Reims.

Recent finds at Perperikon have reinforced conclusions that while the site dates back to ancient times and religious faiths, it was also used by Christians as a place of worship.

  • Print
  • Send via email
  • Translate to
  • Share:

To post comments, please, Login or Register.


Please read the The Sofia Echo forum comments policy.

Archaeology: Part of ancient fortress wall of Philippolis found in Bulgaria’s Plovdiv

However, the find will not be displayed because it has to be covered over again.

Archaeology: 'Oldest rakiya relic' found in Bulgaria

Proof that the distilled spirit is a Bulgarian invention, Bozhidar Dimitrov says.

Archaeology: Unique mosaic found in Bulgaria's Stara Zagora

The mosaic dates back to about the third century and depicts a man and two women, all members of Dionysus’ entourage.

Archaeology: Medieval residential area found at Bulgaria’s Assen’s Fortress

A team of more than 20 archeologists has been clearing vegetation to explore the eastern side of the fortress, two km from the Rhodope town of Assenovgrad.

Archaeology: Mausoleum of Ottoman conqueror found at Perperikon

Sarcophagus found with a skeleton inside, believed to be that of a 14th century Ottoman military commander

Archaeology: Remains of ancient Greek settlement studied on island off Sozopol

The first colonists from the ancient Greek city of Miletus arrived at the end of the seventh century BCE.

Archaeology: New finds at ancient burial mound near Bulgarian village

Various artifacts found at site close to the village of Borissovo.

More in this category

Saab awarded $2.4M military training equipment contract in Bulgaria

The funding is provided under the foreign military sales programme of the US army's Program Executive Office of Simulation, Training and Instrumentation.

Two Brits fined for hooliganism in Bulgaria’s Veliko Turnovo

The UK nationals were arrested after throwing beer bottles at people after being refused entry to a restaurant that had closed for the night.

Tourism: Bulgaria to spend 300M leva on restoring castles, ancient sites

Restoration and development projects include Madara Horseman, Arbanassi fortress, Magura cave.

Sovereign Order of Malta assists hospital in Bulgaria’s Iskrets

Simeon Saxe-Coburg and his spouse Margarita opened a new heating and insulation system at the Tsar Ferdinand Hospital for Pulmonary Diseases in Iskrets, a project implemented thanks to the Embassy of the Sovereign Order of Malta in Sofia and the Nando Peretti Foundation.

Bulgarian Parliament passes confiscation act

According to the law's provisions, the commission will have the power to investigate individuals without prior notification and would not require a criminal conviction in order to launch an investigation.

© 2000-2012, Sofia Echo Media Ltd.

Web Design by RIZN

Sofia Echo Media is part of the Economedia Group.
The news and information content on this website is provided by our editorial team and is copyrighted. Any unauthorised reproduction or use of it is strictly forbidden. Reproduction of this website's content is permitted only with prior written permission from the Editor-in-Chief, should be propertly acredited and provide an active link back to our site. Comments posted by the website's visitors are independent of the editorial materials and do not represent the views of sofiaecho.com. Sofia Echo Media cannot be held responsible for the statements contained in visitor comments. The percentаge change in the shares' prices are based on the price of the last transaction of the current session compared to the price of the last transaction of the previous session. Bulgarian Stock Exchange data is not real-time, but updated every 15 minutes, and should not be used as a basis for decisions about buying or selling stock options.