Bible-engraved ‘pillow’ found under head of entombed clergyman.
Bible-engraved ‘pillow’ found under head of entombed clergyman.
VELIKO TARNOVO, Bulgaria — — Maja Mishevska
A tablet engraved with biblical quotes has been discovered in a 13th-century clergyman’s grave, along with bronze brooches and remains of gold-woven textiles. The items date to the early Byzantine and Christian periods.
The remains were discovered during recent excavations at the ruins of the ancient Monastery of the Virgin Mary in the Tsarevets Fortress, in the medieval Bulgarian town of Tarnovgrad, now called Veliko Tarnovo. During earlier restorations of the Fortress, 470 residential buildings, 23 churches, three monasteries and an inn were found.
The tablet, which was placed under the clergyman’s skull, had the first four verses from the Gospel of John and a double patriarchal cross (the Cross of Lorraine) engraved on it.
The inscription was written in the Old Bulgarian language, spoken during the medieval Bulgarian Empire. Once widespread in Eastern Europe, a number of Eastern Orthodox Churches still use the language.
Archeology professors Hitko Vachev and Ilian Petrakiev from the Regional History Museum in Veliko Tarnovo believe the clergyman was either the monastery abbot or one of the patriarchs of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church.
“These stones are placed under the heads of members of the highest clergy in their graves. Perhaps it was a high-ranking clergyman named Yoan (Ivan, John) who asked to have a quote from the Gospel of John placed under his head in the grave,” said Vachev.
Besides the “pillow” brick, archeologists also found a cyst, a box-shaped burial structure made of stone slabs, that contained an urn with bones. They also discovered two bronze brooches and a ceramic cup dating from the 4th century B.C. (The name “cyst” derives from the Greek word “kiste,” which means box or chest.)
Research showed the bones probably belonged to two individuals, male and female.
In one of the graves, remains of gold-woven textiles framing a veil covering the buried woman’s head were also found. The threads were made of 24-carat gold with a thickness of only 1/12 of a millimeter, which is less than an inch.
The ruins of the Monastery of the Holy Virgin Mary were discovered in 2014 in the Frenkhiser or “Frankish Quarter.” It is believed the monastery was built in the 13th century and served as the kingdom’s main monastery.
Today, the Tsarevets Fortress is one of the most popular cultural tourism spots in Bulgaria, open to visitors every day of the year.
Other notable Bulgarian archeological finds in recent years include the June 2018 discovery of a Late Middle Ages Byzantine sunken fortress and a small monastery on the country’s St. Thomas Island in the Black Sea.
(Edited by Fern Siegel and Matthew B Hall)
