Култура

In the summer of 2002. under the leadership of N.S. Dr. Kostadin Kisyov - Director of the Archaeological Museum in Plovdiv, launched the Rodopi Research Program. In early 2005. A 3-year contract for joint activity is signed between the Historical Museum - Velingrad and the Archaeological Museum - Plovdiv. Under this contract in August 2005. An archaeological expedition of students under the guidance of Prof. Kostadin Kisyov and with the participation of the archaeologist of our museum Iliya Halachev started excavations of the Watch.
Mr. Kisyov, you have already begun the excavation of the Watch. Why did you accept the challenge of Velingrad?
- The Rhodopes are one of the earliest inhabited Bulgarian mountains. Traces of human activity from around 10,000 BC have been found here. Rhodopa was the main source of raw materials in ancient times for the Thracian tribes of Satres, Bessi, Odrissi, Dii and Sapei. In addition, scientific facts and written sources of ancient Greek and Roman chroniclers indicate that in ancient Thrace there existed two sanctuaries of Dionysus: the central one in the mountain Hemus (Old Mountain) and the second less in the Rhodopes.
- How would you define the main purpose of the archaeological expedition Rodopi 2005?
- The main goal of the Rodopi Expedition since its launch in the summer of 2002. was and remains the complex study and study of the cultural and historical heritage of the Rhodopes, and the main task - establishing the road network in the Rhodopes and locating the territory of the famous ancient sanctuaries of Dionysus. As for the work we've already started here, I would set two goals. The first - registration of the archaeological sites and their identification (time, settlements, necropolises) for fuller registration of the cultural and historical heritage of the Western Rhodopes. Our second goal is to locate the territory on which the Thracian tribe Bessi lived, which, as is known, possessed and served the Thracian sanctuary of Dionysus.
- And yet you started excavations first of all on the Watch. What do you expect to find?
- In the first millennium of the new era on the territory of the whole Balkan Peninsula were made clay vessels with different cult scenes on them and they are found mainly and mainly in the region of Velingrad. In your History Museum there is such a cult clay court, and a year ago a second one was opened - I must confess by treasure hunters in the Guard district. On them are depicted human figures of the Bessi and are found in necropolises. I emphasize that these are cult, i.e. religious, not domestic vessels. The general view we made leads me to express my personal opinion that somewhere there is a large cult center - a central sanctuary, and its exact place is not clear yet, but I am convinced that it is somewhere here. It remains to be seen whether it is related to Dionysus or to another Thracian deity.
- What have you found so far?
- We are currently conducting rescue excavations at two archaeological sites (rescue sites, because treasure hunters have destroyed and robbed most of 2/3 of the site, which in this case is 5-6 graves), which are located in the Watch area. The first site is a Thracian settlement with an adjacent necropolis (graveyard) on a total of 3 acres of area. In addition, we must discover the unbroken and unrobbed and, based on the findings, determine when this settlement existed. We have established by now that the graves are built of large loamstones covered with flat tiles. The orientation of the graves is west-east, before Christianity north-south. The second site is a mound necropolis. It consists of 6 mounds, of which 5 are completely excavated by treasure hunters. It will be interesting for the people of Velingrad to know, except that here lived the Bessi, but here we have also found continuity in time. It is about the earliest, which are from the 4th century BC to the 4th century AD. after Christ.
Mr. Kisyov, an archaeological expedition costs not just money, but a lot of money. In this sense, to whom should we also thank?
- Expedition "The Divination of Dionysus - Expedition Rodopi" from its beginning, that is, from the summer of 2002, including this archaeological season is funded by Vinprom "Peshtera" AD. Without their financial help, our work is impossible. So thanks to Vinprom "Cave" AD. However, I would especially like to note that in my more than 20 years of work I have not met a museum director, but also a museum collective, with a similar attitude to our work. Therefore, thanks to Mrs. Snezhana Veleva, the archaeologist of the museum Iliya Halachev, thanks to the municipality of Velingrad for the help. I must note that everything we find will be put into storage in the Historical Museum of Velingrad.
Veska Bozhkova