18 July 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

Archaeologists found gold coins from the time of Justinian the Great in Northern Bulgaria

Archaeologists have discovered five gold coins dating from the reign of Justinian the Great (483-565) in Debnevo, the largest village in the Troyan Municipality in northern Bulgaria.

Justinian was a powerful emperor, who reconquered previously owned Roman land. During his time of reign, he helped the Byzantine Empire reach its peak in culture and prosperity. From 527 until 565, Justinian I ruled as the Byzantine Empire’s emperor. Justinian is best remembered for his work as a legislator and codified.

The discovery was announced on 27 August by Assoc. Dr. Stiliyan Ivanov from the National Historical Institute with a museum at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, who led the archaeological expedition exploring the fortress “Kaleto” above the village.

Archaeologists exploring the Kaleto Fortress above the village found the coins scattered on the floor of a burned-out dwelling dating to the time of the reign of the Bulgarian kings Simeon and Peter.

“During this year, the most interesting archaeological situation is an early medieval dwelling that was burned down. In other cases similar dwellings are found without remains of the internal structure, while here we have the rare opportunity to see the wooden lining of the dwelling, which, although charred, is clearly discernible. It must be related somewhere to the 10th century, to the time of the rule of the Bulgarian kings Simeon and Peter”, the associate professor said.

Gold coins from the time of Justinian the Great, found during archaeological excavations in the Troyan village of Debnevo. BTA Photo/Preslava Ivanova

The owners left all the inventory in the dwelling – two iron sickles, iron tools, a belt buckle, three bronze rings, various-sized ceramic vessels, from which it can be judged that they were involved in agriculture, he added.

“The most interesting find from the apartment is the discovery of five gold coins scattered on the floor. Two of them were badly damaged by fire. What is interesting about the coins is that they are much older than the early medieval dwelling where they were found. They date from the 6th century, from the time of Emperor Justinian I. They were most likely discovered by those who built the dwelling and who subsequently preserved them”, said Ivanov.

Although not in circulation, these coins were valuable enough because they were made of gold – a material that was quite valuable even in the Middle Ages”, Dr. Ivanov said.

According to Ivanov, part of the fortress walls are well preserved, while others have suffered because material from them was used to construct a nearby settlement. He said that traces are found of a large Thracian settlement from the 4th-3rd centuries BC, three phases of habitation from Late Antiquity (4th-6th centuries), the First Bulgarian Kingdom, a necropolis from the Second Bulgarian Kingdom and the Ottoman period.

Related Articles

Petalodus shark teeth found for the first time in China

29 August 2021

29 August 2021

A 290 million-year-old fossil of a shark with petal-shaped teeth has been discovered in China. Seven well-preserved Petalodus teeth were...

2.3-meter sword found in 4th-century tomb in Japan

27 January 2023

27 January 2023

The largest bronze mirror and the largest “dako” iron sword in Japan were discovered at the Tomio Maruyama burial mound...

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...

9 Synagogues in Izmir to Reopen as Museum

26 March 2022

26 March 2022

As part of a Jewish heritage project in Izmir, Turkey, nine historic synagogues will be reopened as museums. Built by...

7500-year-old cursed city of Iran

17 March 2023

17 March 2023

Sialk Hills, located in the southwestern part of Kashan city in Iran, was known among the locals as a ‘cursed...

Digs at Turkey’s Seyitömer mound reveals thousands of artworks

20 March 2022

20 March 2022

Approximately 14,500 artifacts have been unearthed during rescue excavations carried out over 33 years at Seyitömer Mound in Turkey’s western...

Relief masks discovered in Turkey’s ancient city of Kastabala

7 January 2022

7 January 2022

In the ancient city of Kastabala (Castabala), which dates back to 500 BC, located in Turkey’s southern province of Osmaniye,...

Google Earth Helped Archaeologists Make İmportant Discoveries in Leicestershire

26 April 2021

26 April 2021

After Google Earth revealed traces of underground structures, archaeologists digging at a Roman settlement in Leicestershire say they have made...

Climate and Archaic humans caused the extinction of giant camels that lived in Mongolia 27,000 years ago, a study says

3 April 2022

3 April 2022

Camelus knoblochi, a species of giant two-humped camel, survived in Mongolia alongside modern humans—and perhaps Neanderthals and Denisovans—until about 27,000...

Archaeologists Discover a New Pyramid from the Caral Culture, Known as South America’s Oldest Civilization

4 February 2025

4 February 2025

The team from the Caral Archaeological Zone has discovered a new pyramidal structure in the “Sector F” of the Chupacigarro...

Parts of the City of the old city of Ghadames called the pearl of the desert collapsed due to rainfall

28 January 2022

28 January 2022

Some parts of the Old City of Ghadames, located in an oasis about 600km southwest of Tripoli near Libya’s border...

A rare medieval Christogram Tattoo from Ghazali, Sudan

22 October 2023

22 October 2023

A Polish-Sudanese research team investigating the medieval African monastery of Ghazali discovered a rare medieval religious tattoo in a tomb...

The 3200-year-old Mycenaean figure that brought Ephesus together with the Hittite civilization: Found in the excavations of Ayasuluk Tepe

11 June 2022

11 June 2022

A 3,200-year-old Mycenaean figurine that could change the perspective on the history of civilization in Western Anatolia during the Bronze...

1300-year-old stone sculpture from the ancient Turkish era found in Kazakhstan

3 August 2021

3 August 2021

A 1,300-year-old stone sculpture from the early Turkish period was discovered in Kazakhstan’s south, around 250 kilometers (155 miles) from...

Ritualistic Dog Burials Associated with the Goddess Gula Unearthed at the Harran Archaeological Site in Southeastern Türkiye

15 December 2024

15 December 2024

Excavations at the Harran archaeological site in Şanlıurfa, one of the world’s oldest settlements and listed on UNESCO’s Temporary World...