The fourth archaeological season at the
Kozi Gramadi peak has proved fruitful for the National History Museum of Bulgaria.
Under the direction of Dr. Ivan Hristov excavations have recommenced at the Kozi
peak, 1365 metres above sea level, in the village of Starossel near Hissarya.
This season’s excavations have involved the
exploration of a large sanctuary at the summit of the Kozi hill, which in
ancient times was surrounded by a stone wall, and resulted in the discovery of
a Thracian temple and a sanctuary of Zeus and Hera that covers an area of 50
square metres.
The temple seems to have been in operation during
the Early Iron Age from the eighth to sixth centuries BC, and then rebuilt
during the fourth century at the same time as the construction of the Odrissian
palace at the foot of the hill.
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| One of the altars (Photo: NHM |
During this period, the Thracians used cut
stone blocks to emphasize the façade and roofed the temple with Corinthian
style tiles. The old clay altars were also replaced with four round altars
built of stone and clay.
This shrine, and another located on a
nearby rocky peak, is clearly related to the fortified residence (or palace)
associated with the Odryssian dynasty. This part of the Sredna Forest appears
to have been a significant regional cult centre.
The temple remained in use in Roman times
and finds include coins of the Emperor Elagabalus and fragments of marble
votive tablets, some of which bear the image of Zeus.
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| Photo: NHM |
During the 5th century AD the
temple was destroyed by Christians and built a small single nave church 15
metres to the north.
Other significant finds include coins
minted in the Thracian Chersonese, coins of the Macedonian kings Philip II and
Alexander the Great, denarii of the late Roman Republic and over 1,000 sherds,
all of which seems to have come from offerings in the sanctuary.
Work by archaeologists at the site this
season will continue until early September.
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