In brief
A 7.60‑metre wide building was found by the Regional History Museum of Burgas at Rusokastro. The structure, likely a reservoir or storage wing, yielded silver coins from Tsar Ivan Alexander’s reign and Venetian grosso coins, confirming the site’s historical significance. The find, part of a state‑funded excavation, offers fresh insights into the town’s role in 14th‑century Bulgarian‑Byzantine conflicts.
In Burgas on the Black Sea, a team of archaeologists working for the Regional History Museum uncovered a monumental building measuring 7.60 metres in width at the medieval town of Rusokastro. The structure was found near the inner southern fortress wall and its walls, 1.1 metres thick, are built of stone bonded with plentiful mortar. The inner surfaces of the walls are coated with a thick layer of pink hydrophobic (water‑proof) mortar, suggesting the building was used either as a water reservoir or as a storage facility for food supplies.
Experts believe the uncovered portion was the ground floor of a larger building that included a second, residential floor above it. The excavated site also yielded a large number of artefacts, including silver coins issued during the reign of the Bulgarian Tsar Ivan Alexander, Venetian silver grosso coins known as matapans, copper coins, and other objects. The finds are currently undergoing cleaning and conservation at the restoration laboratory of the Burgas Museum.
The archaeological work at Rusokastro is funded by the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Bulgaria and Kameno Municipality and is carried out by the Regional History Museum of Burgas. For the first time the name Rusokastro appears in the writings of the Arab geographer al Idrisi in his work “Geography of the World”. The settlement was described as a large and crowded town and was later mentioned by Byzantine chroniclers in relation to 14th‑century events.
On 18 July 1332 Rusokastro became the scene of a spectacular battle that ended with the victory of Tsar Ivan Alexander over the Byzantine army led by Emperor Andronikos. The castle or fortress was destroyed during the Ottoman campaigns in 1443 and is one of the largest forts in South Bulgaria, having guarded the Bulgarian border ridge Erkesiya during the 10th‑11th centuries.
Rusokastro is now listed among the priority archaeological sites receiving state funding to support the development of cultural tourism in Bulgaria. The discovery of the building and its associated artefacts enhances the understanding of the site’s role as a strategic and commercial hub during the medieval period.
