Policeman accidentally finds ancient Roman sarcophagus on Bulgarian beach
In Bulgaria, a policeman accidentally stumbled upon an ancient Roman sarcophagus near a popular beach. About this writes Arkeo News.
The find was discovered at the resort of St. Constantine and Helena, which is located near the city of Varna. A retired policeman, who was on holiday at the resort, noticed the sarcophagus near a recently completed hotel complex that had not yet begun to receive tourists. The artifact appeared to be abandoned. He reported the find to the authorities. Employees of the Varna Archaeological Museum and the regional department of the Department for the Protection of Cultural Heritage of the Ministry of Culture arrived at the scene to examine the find.
Ancient Varna was a Thracian settlement, then an ancient Greek colony, and then part of the Roman Empire. After a preliminary examination, it was determined that the sarcophagus most likely dates back to the Roman era, namely the second or third century AD.
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The artifact, approximately 2.3 meters long and 90 centimeters wide, is decorated with complex reliefs in the form of garlands, leaves, grapes, animal heads, and flower rosettes. It is not yet known who exactly was buried in it. At some point, the sarcophagus was most likely used as a table, as it was found with a modern marble lid with three niches. According to Milen Marinov, a restorer from the Historical Museum in Varna, the top piece of marble was specially cut to form a flat tabletop, and then the sarcophagus was painted with facade paint, which is now being washed off.
Experts have yet to determine with certainty whether the sarcophagus is of archaeological value or a modern copy. This will become clear after the paint is removed and the marble lid is taken off.
It was previously reported that a graffitied slab in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem was a long-lost Crusader artifact. The panel, from an altar consecrated in 1149, was thought to have been lost after a fire in 1808.
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