A Medieval Silver Ring with a Golden Facing has been Found in the Fortress Kokalianski Urvich

A rare and precious ring has been discovered during the archaeological excavation of the National History Museum in the citadel of the medieval fortress Kokaliansku Urvich, under the scientific guidance of Ph. D. Philip Petrunov (NAIM-BAS) and Violina Kiriakova (NHM). The context of the find is a grave Νο 9, dug into the floor of a medieval burial church, directly into the rock. The preliminary observations permit the hypothesis that the ring was the property of an aristocrat who lived in the second half of the 14th century. The depicted eagle is a symbol of the royal power at Veliko Tarnovo during the Middle Ages. It points towards the belonging of the buried one to the family of the Bulgarian king Ivan Alexander. In the course of the funeral, the body of the deceased was laid into a plastered wooden coffin. Until now, twelve graves have been discovered, four of which were well marked. Two of the graves were robbed in the 16th c., judging by the fragments of a silver adornment in the heap above it. The researchers believe that the ring was on the hand of the departed and that the rosette on it symbolizes continuity and Generic memory.

*Photos: Todor Dimitrov (NHM)