18 July 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

A 1,100-year-old lead amulet of Bulgarian soldiers sieges Constantinople found

A lead plate amulet bearing an inscription in Cyrillic dating from the times of Tsar Simeon the Great was discovered in the fortification “Balak Dere” near the village of Huhla, Ivaylovgrad Municipality, in southern Bulgaria.

The find was announced by archaeologist Ivailo Kanchev, a member of the National Museum of History team.

Prof. Vesselina Inkova’s subsequent conservation revealed a shallow inscription in Cyrillic letters. Georgi Singalevich then assumed that the beginning of the text was applied on the inner side of the plate while deciphering it using reflectance transformation imaging (RTI). When it was carefully opened, the researchers discovered a lengthy Old Bulgarian Cyrillic inscription that was written in seven lines on the inside and four lines outside the plate.

The names of the supplicants, Nikola and Pavel, were successfully deciphered on the lead plate amulet, the BTA reported. The amulet was found in a cultural layer attributable to the beginning of the 10th century.

The site is a fortification in a locality called Balak Dere by the village of Houhla, near Ivaylovgrad in southern Bulgaria.
The site is a fortification in a locality called Balak Dere by the village of Houhla, near Ivaylovgrad in southern Bulgaria. Photo: Rodopi

This prompted archaeologists to focus on Tsar Simeon I’s so-called Golden Age (893-927), comparing historical sources from the time that described the Bulgarian ruler’s marches on Constantinople and the epigraphic analysis of the find, complete with the archaic orthography of specific letters dated to the 10th century.

Experts say the one-year orthography is similar to writings from present-day Northeast Bulgaria, where Simeon’s capital of Preslav was located. Unlike any previous finds of this type, this one is unusual for the canonical-sounding text it contains, as well as the successful deciphering of the names of the supplicants, Nikola and Pavel.

All of this, combined with the archaeological context, gives scholars reason to believe that they have discovered one of the earliest Cyrillic texts known to date.

The lead plate amulet folded through. Photo: Ivaylo Kanev Team
The lead plate amulet folded through. Photo: Ivaylo Kanev Team

The geographically closest similar artifacts are two 10th-11th century amulets found near Kardzhali and Haskovo.

According to Ivaylo Kanev, during Tsar Simeon’s march on Constantinople, there was a Bulgarian garrison at Balak Dere, and the lead plate amulet belonged to his warriors.

Tsar Simeon I. nicknamed Simeon the Great, was the son of Boris I, king of the First Bulgarian Empire, and ruled from 893-927. Simeon’s successful campaigns against the Byzantines, Magyars, and Serbs led to Bulgaria’s greatest territorial expansion, making it the most powerful state in modern Eastern and Southeast Europe.

The unfolded plate amulet. Ivaylo Kanev Team Photo

Related Articles

Exploring the life story of a high-status woman from isotope data in Hungary’s largest Bronze Age cemetery

29 July 2021

29 July 2021

Researchers examined 29 tombs from Szigetszentmiklós-Ürgehegy, one of Hungary’s largest Middle Bronze Age cemeteries, and one of them, a high-status...

New rune discovery in Oslo

16 February 2022

16 February 2022

For the third time in a month and a half, archaeologists have found a new rune in Oslo. The artifact...

5000-year-old female figurines found in a Ukrainian cave

15 May 2023

15 May 2023

Archaeologists discovered five clay female figurines hidden inside a hole in a wall in Verteba Cave, in the Borshchiv Region...

A rare sheep carriage and ancient chariots found near mausoleum of China’s first emperor

28 October 2023

28 October 2023

A rare “six-sheep” carriage and a four-wheeled wooden chariot were discovered near the mausoleum of Qinshihuang, China’s first Emperor during...

8,000-year-old Musical Instrument found in northwest Turkey

4 July 2021

4 July 2021

Archaeologists in northwestern Turkey’s Bilecik on Tuesday discovered a musical instrument that dates back to an estimated 8,000 years. During...

Phrygian Royal Tomb Unearthed in Ancient City of Gordion, Türkiye: A Landmark Discovery

4 June 2025

4 June 2025

In a major archaeological breakthrough, Turkey’s Minister of Culture and Tourism, Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, announced the discovery of a wooden...

Evidence of Medieval Plague Victims Buried With “Significant Care” Found

23 June 2021

23 June 2021

The Black Death, which killed between 40 and 60% of Europe’s population in the mid-14th century, was a devastating epidemic...

Europe’s Oldest Plough Marks Discovered in Switzerland and Testifying the Use of Animals in Agriculture 7000 Years Ago

8 March 2024

8 March 2024

Excavations at the Anciens Arsenaux site in Sion, Switzerland, researchers revealed evidence that Neolithic farmers used animal traction to pull...

Unprecedented 1800-year-old marble bathtub recovered in Turkey

23 April 2022

23 April 2022

The 1800-year-old marble bathtub, which was seized when it was about to be sold by historical artifact smugglers in Aydın’s...

Archaeologists found 5 unique sculptures representing the Kakatiya art style in Siddipet

19 July 2021

19 July 2021

13th-century statues were found near a temple tank in the Siddipet district in the northern province of Telangana, India. On...

Archaeologists Uncover Unique 6th Century Mosaic in Abandoned Byzantine Monastery

9 April 2025

9 April 2025

A recent excavation report from the Israel Antiquities Authority has revealed the discovery of a well-preserved Byzantine-period monastery and farmhouse...

Fragments of the World’s Oldest Known Rune Stone Discovered in Norway

3 February 2025

3 February 2025

Archaeologists have found fragments of the world’s oldest known rune stone at the Svingerud burial field in Norway and fitted...

“Scythian golds” will be returned to Ukraine

15 November 2021

15 November 2021

The fate of the Scythian Golds, which were sent to be exhibited in the Allard Pierson Museum before the Russian...

Receding waters in Lake Van reveal rock-cut Urartian port

22 September 2022

22 September 2022

Located in the eastern province of Van in Turkey, the falling water level of Lake Van, with the decrease in...

Scientists find the oldest evidence of humans in Israel -a 1.5 million-year-old Human vertebra

3 February 2022

3 February 2022

An international group of Israeli and American researchers, an ancient human vertebra has been uncovered in Israel’s Jordan Valley that...