Archaeologia

Bulgarica
XII in the Divdyadovo
2008
2 of Shumen (NE
59-80
An Early
Medieval Graveyard
Quarter
Bulgaria) Sofia

AN EARLY MEDIEVAL GRAVEYARD IN THE DIVDYADOVO QUARTER

OF SHUMEN (NE BULGARIA)
GEORGI ATANASOV/ SVETLANA VENELINOVA/
STANIMIR STOYCHEV
The excavations
Human bones were discovered in the northern part of the Divdyadovo quarter of Shumen
while digging a drainage ditch along Veliki
Preslav Street in October 2004. The burial pits
thus revealed appeared as darker strata in the
two sections of the ditch. The area is densely
built on and the area examined had thus to be
restricted to the confines of the drainage ditch
with length of 61 m, width 2.20 m and depth
1.90 m (fig. 1). Some of the pits were below
the modern pavement as well as in the nearby
housing area, and as a result have only been
partly researched. The ancient cultural layer is
0.40-1.75 m below the present surface.
1
Cultural stratification of different periods
was discovered during the archaeological exrd th
cavations. Two bronze coins of the 3 -4 C
2
AD and a number of sherds of dark-red glazed
vessels made on a fast potters wheel were
found in the ditch and in the yards of the nearby
houses. It seems probable that a settlement existed in the vicinity during the Late Roman period. The remains of a sunken house (pit VII)
and garbage pits with traces of production processes (pits I, II and IV) were recorded. Sherds,
gray-black and russet-brown in colour and with
inorganic inclusions thrown on a slow potters
wheel were found in these pits. All these sherds
were poorly fired and most of them were decorated with incised linear or undulating ornament. Isolated fragments of vessels with burnished cordons and other sherds with green
glaze were also found in this system of pits.
th
th
This ceramic material can be dated to 9 -10 C
AD, when a settlement probably existed in the
area.
Seventeen graves were examined. Most of

them had been disturbed by the modern construction works and were badly preserved on
account of their location immediately under the
aggregate bed of the asphalt covering.
Namely the orientation of the graves, the
evidence of a burial rite and the associated
grave goods are the basic indicators by which
we intend to characterize and date these burials as such belonging to cemeteries of different
periods.
Fourteen of the graves were densely situated in the southwestern part of the ditch.
th
th
Sherds of 17 -19 C AD were discovered in
the fillings of the pits. Most of the graves were
irregular outlined. The dead were laid out in an
extended position the upper and lower limbs
followed the axis of the body. The skulls were
facing to the southsouthwest. A shattered
stone was dug in near one of the walls of the pit
of grave 4. Charcoal, small animal bones and
pottery sherds were found in most of the graves.
Objects of corroded iron were discovered in
two of the graves, and a fragment of a glass
bracelet in a third one. The placing of a stone
and personal belongings and probably the traces
of a funerary feast (trizna) are characteristics
of pagan burial practices which were incorporated into Christian ceremonial, and remained
locally preserved down to the present day
( 1977, 30-49). It seems likely that
this group of graves formed part of a cemetery
of the Ottoman period.
In 2005 archaeological investigations continued and other seventeen graves from the same
cemetery were investigated in the immediate
proximity of those previously discovered
( et al. 2006, 375).
The graves located in the northern half of

The rescue excavations were carried out by the authors headed by the late Georgi Atanasov.

One of the coins entered the Numismatics Department of the Regional Museum of History-Shumen. This coin and the one
from grave 3 are studied by Dr. Zhenya Zhekova.

59

Georgi Atanasov/Svetlana Venelinova/Stanimir Stoychev

the ditch, which will be treated in greater detail

below, are of great interest and may be presumed to belong to a cemetery established
some ten centuries earlier in the early middle
ages.
Two grave pits were uncovered (fig. 1/III,
IV) partially preserved in the two sections of
the ditch. The bottoms of the pits were covered
by a layer of crushed small stones and one of
these layers was laterally edged with larger
stones. Charcoals, small quantity of animal
bones, fragments of gray-black pottery with or
without incised ornament and with burnished
cordons were found in the embankment. The
two pits were not completely preserved and no
skeletal remains were discovered. That they
were graves seems likely in view of their similar construction to surviving cremation burials
( 1977, 35); however, there is no
conclusive evidence. Much the same situation
is that of another pit preserved in the eastern
section (fig. 1/VI). The undisturbed skeleton of
3
a foal was found at this location but one can
only hypothesize whether this was an adjacent
niche-like pit of a grave destroyed when the
modern drain was cut. Early medieval graves
in which horse bones have been found associated with human skeletal remains are known in
the cemetery of Popina 1, near Kyulevcha
( 1976, 86, 168, 270), Novi Pazar
(/ 1957, 11) and in tumulus
near Madara ( 1934, 429) all in
Northeast Bulgaria.
Information on grave construction was discovered in only three of the ten pits excavated
in the northern part of the ditch. Grave 1 had
not survived in its original form (fig. 2). Only
the pits of graves 3 (figs. 3, 4) and 6 (figs. 5,
6) were comparatively well preserved. They
were rectangular with rounded corners and
with an additional niche formed to them. The
elliptical niche in grave 6 was situated to the
northwest of the pelvic and thigh bones of the
deceased. The niche in grave 3 was semicircular. It was to the southeast of the metatarsal
bones of the buried and extended over a step
formed at a height of 0.25 m. It was 0.80 m
3

wide and to the southeast only 0.65 m of the

niche survived as the rest was covered by the
modern pavement. The niche in grave 58 near
Kyulevcha was constructed in a similar way
( 1976, 84, 86, 119). A significant
number of graves in the early medieval cemeteries in NE Bulgaria near Bdintsi, Nozharevo,
Devnya-1, Novi Pazar and 20% of those at
Kyulevcha were with niches ( 1995,
. ).
Graves 1, 3 and 6 represent individual burials. The position of the bones in grave 1 is very
impressive. According to the construction
workers the scull was oriented to the west. The
vertebrae of the lower part of the spinal column
were discovered in situ and followed the eastwest axis of the body. The ribs and the pelvic
bones were disturbed; the two thighbones were
separated some 1.35 m from each other. The
humerus and the ulna were situated lying across
one another and to the east of the spinal column. A heap of medium sized crushed stones
with traces of burning was placed to the northeast of the bones. The filling of the pit was
mixed with charcoals in high concentration, animal bones and pottery sherds. A thin lens of
charcoal and ash some 0.055 to 0.080 m thick
was visible above the stones.
Unfortunately grave 1 had been damaged
during the construction works and thus did not
allow any firm conclusions concerning the original disposition of the bones. However, it can be
supposed that although disturbed, since the
bones were not found in a heap, it was not a
secondary burial. Perhaps subsequently, as sugth
th
gested by the 9 -10 C AD sherds, the pit was
opened for a second time and the bones of the
dead were disturbed though left but following
the same original orientation.
The individuals in graves 3 and 6 were buried in an extended supine position. As a result
of the ditch digging activities, the western part
of grave 3 was disturbed. The scull, part of the
thorax, the left clavicle and humerus were missing. According to the anthropological analyses
the massive bones belonged to a man, about 40
years old, 1.75 m tall, with many exostoses

The osteological analysis was done by Dr. Nikolay Spasov from the Natural History Museum at the Bulgarian Academy of
Sciences - Sofia.

60

An Early Medieval Graveyard in the Divdyadovo Quarter of Shumen (NE Bulgaria)

Fig. 1

Fig. 2
4

along the spinal column . Grave 3 was eastwest oriented, and the arms of the dead were
folded over the pelvis. About 16 years old, a
1.72 m tall individual was buried in grave 6. The
bones of his right arm were destroyed when the
drain was laid while the head was facing to the
south, and the upper and lower extremities followed the axis of the body. In the light of the
grave goods one may assume that the burial
was that of a young woman.
4

Both western orientation and crossing arms

are commonly observed features of inhumation
burials in early medieval cemeteries and are
only rarely practiced in the pagan period. The
crossing of arms was a dominant feature as late
th
th
as 11 -12 C AD ( 1977, 39, 42).
The cemeteries of Varna-2 and Devnya-2 and
3 ( 1972, 49, 50, 55) pose the
question whether it is correct to assume that
the western orientation, crossed arms and the

The anthropological analysis of the bones was done by Professor Dr. Yordan Yordanov and Dr. Branimira Dimitrova from
the Institute of Experimental Morphology and Anthropology with Museum - Sofia.

61

Georgi Atanasov/Svetlana Venelinova/Stanimir Stoychev

Fig. 3

62

An Early Medieval Graveyard in the Divdyadovo Quarter of Shumen (NE Bulgaria)

Fig. 4

63

Georgi Atanasov/Svetlana Venelinova/Stanimir Stoychev

Fig. 5

Fig. 6

absence of grave goods are sufficient indications for differentiation between graves of the
pagan and Christian periods. The grave orientation in the early medieval cemeteries was not
constant and indicates the heterogeneous composition of the Proto-Bulgarians (
1995, 37).
Unfortunately only three graves from the
Shumen cemetery were preserved in the northern part of the drain, also damaged by the construction work. As a result it is not possible to
determine what the common custom as to orientation was. According to the verbal reports,
other graves, also oriented to the west, were
unearthed during the construction of the houses
in close proximity to the excavation area. Probably the population or a part of it that buried
their dead in the early medieval cemetery preferred a western orientation.
We suggest that traces of rites to pacify the
spirit of the dead, aimed at keeping it in the
grave pit and preventing it from disturbing the
64

living, were preserved in the burial practice of

the excavated graves of Divdyadovo. The ankles of the individual buried in grave 6 were
placed close to each other and probably they
were tied together. There are similar examples
from graves in the cemeteries of Kyulevcha,
Nozharevo, Balchik, Devnya-1 and 3 (/
1989, 216; 1976, 106,
171; 1977, 37; 2007, 157). This is
the most common way of assuaging the dead
practiced by the Proto-Bulgarians to the north
and west of the Black Sea ( 1989,
178-179). Piles of gravel were discovered on
the cervical vertebrae and on the crural bones
of the person burial in grave 6. The bodies of
some of those buried in the cemetery of Devnya-1 and 3 were also weighed down with
stones ( 1976, 171;
1971, 62; 1972, 50). This recalls
the two medium sized stones placed near one
of the short ends of grave pits 3 and 6. This is a
practice known from the pagan cemeteries of

An Early Medieval Graveyard in the Divdyadovo Quarter of Shumen (NE Bulgaria)

Fig. 7

Nozharevo, Devnya-1 and 3 (/ 1989, 214; 1976, 171).

Also in connection with the same aspect of
the ritual practices, fire with its purging power
was used together with the burying and weighing down of the bones with stones and the binding together of the extremities. Considerable
quantities of charcoal were discovered round
the lower extremities of those buried in graves
3 and 6. Placing embers in the graves is a common pagan ritual, which later entered Christian
tradition. It seems that a burning wooden beam
was laid under the body of the dead in grave 3.
A 0.10 m wide layer of charcoal, ash and burnt

piece of wood was formed 0.25 m to the north

and along the side of the skeleton. The wood
had burnt all the area below the thorax; parallels for this may be found in the cemeteries of
Bdintsi, Topola, Kyulevcha and Novi Pazar
( 1976, 122, 124;
1977, 38; / 1957, 13, 2830, 33; - et al. 1989, 187197). There were also traces of burning on the
medium sized stones heaped in the niche of
grave 3, where the surrounding soil was
bricked, and a thin layer of ash and charcoal
visible above it. It may be suggested that some
kind of funeral fire ritual was performed in the
65

Georgi Atanasov/Svetlana Venelinova/Stanimir Stoychev

Fig. 8

Fig. 9

Fig. 10

Fig. 11

66

An Early Medieval Graveyard in the Divdyadovo Quarter of Shumen (NE Bulgaria)

Fig. 12

67

Georgi Atanasov/Svetlana Venelinova/Stanimir Stoychev

Fig. 13

Fig. 14

68

An Early Medieval Graveyard in the Divdyadovo Quarter of Shumen (NE Bulgaria)

Fig. 15

Fig. 16

niche at the same time the burial took place.

Sherds of both hand-made and wheel-turned
vessels, poorly fired, gray in colour and with
large silicate inclusions were scattered in the
niche of grave 3. Some of the sherds had been
subjected to fire and their surface was blackened and warped by the heat of the fire.
Unburnt sheep bones were also discovered. All
these elements (scattered pottery sherds, animal bones) were probably remains of the trizna
custom in which vessels were ritually broken
and some food had been offered. Small animal
bones and sherds analogous to those from grave
3 were found around the bones of the buried in
grave 6.
Associated artifacts
Another common feature characterizing
graves 1, 3 and 6 are the grave goods whose
rich and disparate character are of great significance for defining the chronological limits of
the Divdyadovo cemetery.
A fragmentary bone shank of an awl with
incised ornament and hollowed out in the upper
part was discovered near the bones of the skeleton buried in grave 1. A fragment of heavily
corroded iron was preserved in the socket.
Dimensions: length 0.091 m; diameter of the
shank 0.014 m; diameter of the socket 0.004 m.
Grave 3 the richest one regarding the finds
confirms the practice of placing vessels in the
grave pits. A wooden vessel, probably a large
mug pail or bucket was placed as an offering
on the crural bones of the dead. Fragments of
two bronze mounts, the upper with a smaller
diameter were preserved.
69

Georgi Atanasov/Svetlana Venelinova/Stanimir Stoychev

There are two dotted lines along the two longitudinal sides of the mounts. The handle of the
pail is arch-shaped and has a square cross-section. One of the terminals is incomplete while
the other ends in an S-curve decorated with a
birds eye. A rectangular plate was attached
with two rivets to the upper mount. Its lower
terminal resembles a double-hook, and a slot
into which the handle of the vessel was fastened, had been cut in the upper mount. Traces
of wood have been preserved between the
plates.
Dimensions: width of the facing 0.024 m,
thickness 0.001 m. Length of the handle
0.101 m. Dimensions of the section 0.005 x
0.002 m (fig. 7).
In early medieval cemeteries buckets were
placed as burial urns (Devnya-1) or as grave
offerings like that in grave 3. A clay pail from
the bi-ritual cemetery of Histria (
1972, 68, . 13; Fiedler 1992, Taf. 347) provides some evidence for reconstructing our
Shumen example. Wooden pails were found in
cremation graves from the cemeteries of
Bdintsi, Kyulevcha, Sini vir, Razdelna, Devnya1 and 3 ( 1976, 77, 122, 160 161,
. 44 1,2 , 72 9, 10 , 101 7, 102 3;
1971; 1972, 68; Fiedler 1992, 474,
494, Taf. 71/15, 97/8, 10), in pagan inhumation
graves in the cemeteries of Nozharevo (/ 1989, 216, 218;
1995, 6, . ), Hitovo ( 1991, 105)
and Gledachevo (/ 2006,
166) and in graves in the Christian cemeteries
of Galiche, Preslav-1 and Nikolovo (
1976, 225, 252, . 1472-4, 1583-6; 1981, 39).
As in grave 3, an adult man was buried with
rich burial offerings in grave 15 of the cemetery
at Nozharevo. An amphora-like vessel was
placed on his legs, together with a wooden pail,
and above it the skulls of a sheep and of a calf
(/ 1989, 216, . 4). Parallels show that although they were isolated
finds, wooden pails were placed in the graves
not only during the pagan period but during the
Christian era too.
A complete amphora-like vessel, made of a
fine wear and traces of secondary burning on
its surface, was placed behind the wooden ves70

sel above the ankles of the dead. The pot belongs to the type of medium sized amphora-like
vessels which were worked on slow potters
wheel. The body of the vessel is spherical, and
its maximum diameter is almost twice the diameter of the base (D 2:D 3 = 1,8:1), and the
height of the body is almost equal to its width
(-h:D2 = 0.9:1). The widest part of the vessel
is above the mid-point of the body (-h: 1 =
2,1:1). The shoulders gently curve into a narrow, high and cylindrical neck, which broadens
out into a funnel-like mouth. Two opposing
arch-curved handles with elliptic cross-section
and longitudinal grooves are applied to the midpoint of the neck and the shoulders. Two parallel horizontal grooves are incised just below the
widest part of the vessel. The base is flat.
Dimensions: height 0.225 m, diameter of the
mouth 0.052 m, diameter of the body 0.225 m,
diameter of the base 0.087 m (fig. 8).
Having regard to its spherical shape, the
characteristics of the wear itself and the incised
ornament of two lines on the lower part of the
body, the amphora-like vessel from Divdyadovo
resembles some of the jugs, classified by L.
Doncheva-Petkova as type III ( 1977, 72, 174-175, cat. ##221-224,
226, 227, . V 223, 226; 1981,165; 1957, 48, . V2, V1,2,4, V1012 , 14 , 15 ; 1971, 67, . 11). Regarding the proportion of the amphora-like vessel: the height and the width, the heights of the
neck and the body, its maximum diameter towards the diameter of the base, two jugs from
the cemetery of Novy Pazar are the closest
analogues to the amphora-like vessel from grave 3 (-h:D 2 = 0.8-0.9:1; D 2:D 3 = 1.6-1.9:1;
h:h 1 = 0,33-0,54:1) ( 1957, 48, #10,
14, . V 2,4; - 1977,
174, cat. ##223, 226, . V223,226), as well
as a third one from the necropolis Devnya-1
(-h:D2 = 0.8-0.9:1; D2:D3 = 1.7:1; h:h1 = 0.330.54:1) (- 1977, 175, cat.
#227; 1971, 67, . 11). The
same indicators reveal a similarity with two
amphora-like vessels from Pliska, tumulus
XXXIII and the settlement of Brestak, classified by L. Doncheva-Petkova as type I ( 1948, 230, . 2 10; 1957, 67,

An Early Medieval Graveyard in the Divdyadovo Quarter of Shumen (NE Bulgaria)

. 91; 1955, 26, . 21; 1959, 249, . 41; -

1977, 178, . 249, cat. #249). In both
cases the neck is high and cylindrical but, compared to the vessel from grave 3 it is shorter or
wider and ends with a straight or slightly outward curved and rounded mouth. Two flat handles are applied from the mid-point of the neck
to the shoulders of these amphora-like vessels,
but their curve is larger than that of the vessel
from Divdyadovo.
The amphora-like vessel from grave 3 is
without precise parallel. Although the similarities between the amphora-like vessel from
Shumen and those from Pliska and Brestak,
there are also number of clear differences between them but it is normal, concerning the date
th
of the latter ones 9 C AD. Regarding the
profile and general proportions of the vessel,
there is a closer similarity with the spherical
bodied jugs. It can be assumed that the amphora-like pot from grave 3 is an earlier version
of the amphora-like type I vessels and confirms
their genealogical relationship to the jugs with
spherical bodies (- 1981,
167). This gives us grounds to treat the pot from
Divdyadovo as a link between the two types of
vessel (spherical jugs and amphora-like vessels)
th
and to date it not later than the 8 C AD.
The man buried in grave 3 was laid out with
his personal weapons. A light battle-axe which
belongs to type I, variant A of Valery Yotovs
classification ( 2004, 88) was placed
by his right ulna. The axe was severely corroded and its rear part is square sectioned and
the trapezoidal cutting edge has the same section. The socket of the axe is elliptic with
rounded edges. Traces of the wooden handle
are preserved within the socket.
Dimensions: length 0.190 m, width of the
edge 0.044 m, diameter of the socket 0.021 m
(fig. 9/2).
Similar axes but of smaller size were found
in the cemeteries of Krasen and Nozharevo
( 2002, 126-132; 2004, cat.
th
th
##548, 549). They date from 8 - 9 C AD.
An iron knife-dagger was placed by the right
thighbone just under the pelvis. It also was severely corroded and there is no link between

some of its fragments. The blade of the dagger

is long and narrow, with a rhomboid cross-section and traces of wood, probably from the
scabbard. The length, the shape and the section
of the blade classify it more as a stabbing than
a cutting weapon.
Dimensions: length 0.210 m, width of the
edge 0.015 m, thickness 0.006 m (fig. 9/1).
There is close parallel in a knife with a rhomboid section of the blade. It was discovered,
also placed at the right thighbone, in grave 252
of the cemetery of Histria (Fiedler 2002, Taf.
33/7, 9).
Fragments of a further severely corroded
and burnt iron object with traces of wood, discovered lying on the pelvic bones and some 0.30
m along the left thighbone, arouse interest. A
possible interpretation was that this was a sickle
with a blade some 400 mm long, probably intentionally broken and laid upon the dead.
Dimensions: length of the haft 0.11 m, preserved length of the haft with the curve 0.22 m,
preserved length of the cutting part of the blade
being 0.28 m (fig. 9/3).
Placing sickles in graves, although rare, is
not unknown. Parallels may be found but in
some cremation graves from the Hitovo-3
( 1991, 105) and Razdelna cemeteries
(Fiedler 2002, Taf. 6510, 8615). It is worth mentioning that sickles were found in Avarian
cemeteries too (Garam 1975, 79, 86, fig. 7/17;
Trk 1975, 336, fig. 8; Kovrig 1975, 177, 178,
fig. 5/7). This fact is quite interesting because
an agricultural tool is in a warriors grave. Probably the sickle was used as a weapon or for
obtaining fodder for the horse ( 1989,
95).
Another everyday object was found in the
filling of grave 3 a biconical stone spindle
whorl.
Dimensions: total diameter 0.035 m, internal
diameter 0.010 m.
Another find is a half follis minted in Constantinople in the period AD 507-512 during the
reign of Anastasius I. The obverse has been
completely effaced.
Dimensions: diameter 0.019-0.020 m, weight
4.74 g.
Coins were rare and valuable objects in
71

Georgi Atanasov/Svetlana Venelinova/Stanimir Stoychev

these times. Probably the late-antiquity coin discovered in grave 3 was used as an amulet.
The personal belongings, with which the
dead in grave 3 were buried, deserve special
mention.
An applique (?) in the shape of a rosette
with a central opening was discovered among
the grave goods. It was found next to the dagger, on the right side of the body. Made from
embossing copper alloy sheet there are traces
of a white metal coating covering the applique
in the hollows between the leaves of the rosette. One of the leaves was punched.
Dimensions: diameter 0.115 m, thickness of
the plate 0.0005 m, height 0.0055 m (fig. 10).
The applique finds a parallel with objects
from graves 8, 9, 15, 25 and 49 in the cremation
cemetery of Garvan-1, where they are described as stamped bronze buttons (
1976, 15-21, . 57, 73, 99, 142).
Thirteen appliques, two buckles and a strapend with a loop were discovered near and
mostly underneath the pelvis. Another strapend was found amongst the fragments of the
mounts of the pail. They formed part of two belt
sets of differing composition, one being of silver alloy, and the other of copper alloy (fig. 11).
Both of the buckles have the same basic
form. The cast frame is trapezoid in shape and
a large tongue with a spike cast in the middle is
fastened to it. The buckle-plate is rectangular
with concave long sides. The plate was made
from a double-curved lamella with an opening
for the tongue and it had been joined to the
leather strap by four rivets with semispherical
heads. The terminals of the obverse plate are
cut and the edges of both plates are corroded,
and the rear plate of the bronze buckle is with a
punch. The silver buckle frame is some 0.005
m wider and its plate is 0.001 m longer than the
bronze one.
Dimensions:
1. Silver alloy buckle with obverse plate
0.0415 0.026 m and rear one 0.04 0.025 m,
the frame is 0.033 0.0395 m, length of the
tongue 0.042 m, and diameter of the rivets
0.009 m (fig. 12/1).
2. Copper alloy buckle with plate 0.041
0.025 m, frame 0.028 0.0375 m, length of the
72

tongue 0.035 m, diameter of the rivets 0.0085

mm (fig. 13/1).
There are three types of appliques.
The first type is presented by three rectangular double plates, two made from silver alloy
and one from copper alloy. The upper plate is
with cut terminals. These plates had been joined
to the leather strap by four rivets with semispherical heads. Some fragments of the rear
plates of two of the appliques (##1, 3) were
missing. Only the obverse plate of the third applique (#2) was preserved. Four round openings had been cut out in its central part, forming
a square with another irregular shaped piercing
between them. The bronze applique is basically
square but it was heavily corroded.
Dimensions:
1. Silver alloy applique, length 0.036 m, width
0.0255 m, and diameter of the rivets 0.0075 m
(fig. 12/2).
2. Silver alloy applique, length 0.0325 m,
width 0.024 m, and diameter of the rivets
0.0082 m (fig. 12/3).
3. Copper alloy applique, length 0.026 m,
width 0.024 m, and diameter of the rivets
0.0075 m (fig. 12/2).
The second type of appliques are narrow
plaques with loops presented in the tow belt sets
in different variants. Four silver alloy appliques
belong to the first variant; they consist of a rectangular plate with cut concave sides which
rear part forms an elongated trapezium. These
appliques had been joined to the leather strap
by two rivets with semispherical heads. Some
of the extremities of the plaques are fragmentary or bent (#4), and one of the rivets had been
hammered flat (#2). A much worn loop of triangular cross-section was fastened by a hook
to these appliques.
Dimensions:
1. Silver alloy applique, length of the plate
0.027 m, width 0.014 m, diameter of the loop
0.0235 m, thickness 0.004 m, diameter of the
rivets 0.0085 m (fig. 12/9).
2. Silver alloy applique, length of the plate
0.027 m, width 0.014 m, diameter of the loop
0.0235 m, thickness 0.004 m, diameter of the
rivets 0.0085 m (fig. 12/10).
3. Silver alloy applique, length of the plate

An Early Medieval Graveyard in the Divdyadovo Quarter of Shumen (NE Bulgaria)

0.027 m, width 0.014 m, diameter of the loop

0.023 m, thickness 0.004 m, diameter of the rivets 0.0085 m (fig. 12/11).
4. Silver alloy applique, length of the plate
0.026 m, width 0.014 m, diameter of the loop
0.02.5 m, thickness 0.004 m, diameter of the
rivets 0.009 m. A fragment of the reverse side
of the plate is missing. The two corners of the
obverse are bent to hold the loop (fig. 12/12).
The second variant of the applique plaque
with a loop is made of copper alloy. Unlike the
silver appliques, this one has an oval plate with
slightly cut terminals. The reverse of the fragmentary plate is trapezoid with convex
cathetuses. It was joined to the leather strap by
a rivet with semispherical head.
Dimensions: Copper alloy applique, length of
the plate 0.017 m, width 0.0145 m, diameter of
the loop 0.021 m, thickness 0.0032 m, diameter
of the rivets 0.007 m (fig. 13/2).
The third type is represented by five appliques that formed part of the silver belt set. They
are rectangular with cut ends. They had been
joined to the leather belt by two rivets, analogous to the previous described ones. Some of
the edges of the plates and the rivets were broken (##1, 2, 3).
Dimensions:
1. Applique, length 0.025 m, width 0.012 m,
and diameter of the rivets 0.008 m (fig. 12/4).
2. Applique, length 0.025 m, width 0.012 m,
and diameter of the rivets 0.008 m (fig. 12/5).
3. Applique, length 0.0255 m, width 0.0125
m, and diameter of the rivets 0.008 m (fig. 12/
6).
4. Applique, length 0.025 m, width 0.012 m,
and diameter of the rivets 0.008 m (fig. 12/7).
5. Applique, length 0.025 m, width 0.012 m,
and diameter of the rivets 0.008 m (fig. 12/8).
The end of the copper alloy belt is a parallelogram with oval cross-section. Three
spheres are joined to one of its long sides. The
strap end is composed of two separately cast
parts. They are joined to each other by three
rivets. They were used for fastening to the
leather strap, traces of which have been preserved.
Dimensions: length 0.033 m, width 0.017 m,
and thickness 0.0065 m (fig. 13/4).

No parallels for this strap are known.

The second of these belt ends with a loop
deserves special comment. The belt end and the
loop are cast from silver alloy, and their ornament has been gilded. The strap end is tongueshaped. The obverse side together with its
protuberate edges form -like cross-section. A
thin plate is welded to it, which gives the strap
end a box-like shape. The whole strap, wide
0.028 m, fitted in the groove that was thus
formed. It was fastened with two rivets with
small heads, situated at the foot of the facing,
the edge of which was fragmentary. A chipcarved ornament, which was later formed with
a chisel and an auger, was laid out on the obverse side of the strap end when it was cast. A
narrow carved rim forms a frame. Four identical circular floral elements comprising a slender stem with two twin-leafed semi-palmettes
with broad leaves are depicted. The first leaf is
curled, the second is pointed and the third one
is curved into a scroll.
Dimensions: length 0.121 m, width 0.0275 m,
and thickness 0.0052 m (figs. 12/12A, 16).
The loop of the strap end is rectangular with
a rectangular opening. It was joined to the strap
by four rivets, fastened to the reverse plate. An
ornament similar to that on the strap end was
incised on its obverse side. The design is formed
of a floral scroll in an antithetically symmetric
group two twin-leafed semi-palmettes in identical pairs set diagonally and springing from a
common stem opposite to each other.
Dimensions: length 0.032 m, width 0.0265 m,
height 0.0115 m and thickness of the upper plate
0.002 m (fig. 12/13).
Common stylistic features characterize the
belt sets from grave 3. They differ only in the
material from which they have been made.
Their dimensions differ only by a couple of
millimeters. Based on the study of their construction and the fact that they were found together, one may presume that they were produced in one and the same workshop. There
are traces of wearing on the edges of the buckles and on the loops of the appliques. One of
the appliques with loops had been damaged and
subsequently repaired. Scratches can be seen
on the reverse side of the large strap end. This
73

Georgi Atanasov/Svetlana Venelinova/Stanimir Stoychev

suggests that both belts had been in use for

some time. This factor, as well as their findspot near the pelvis of the dead person and
not simply thrown into the grave pit indicate
that they had been owned by the person buried
in the grave. This observation assists us in
specifying the chronological limit for the use of
the belt set which had probably been made two
or three decades earlier.
Parallels for the buckles and the plaque appliques with loops can be found with the silver
mount discovered in grave 1 at Someeni
( 1958, 7, 8, 10; Werner
1986, 31, 33, Abb. 4). Similar buckles were
found in graves 29 and 58 of the Razdelna
cemetery(, 1978; Fiedler 1992,
Taf. 6513) and grave 31 at Bdintsi (
1976). These appliques with a loop as well as
the rectangular examples with four rivets are
similar to the appliques from the hoards from
Vrap (Werner 1986, Tafeln 13, 24 29-33 ) and
Erseke (Avar Treasure 1981, 10-29). Four
small opposing openings were punched on an
applique from Vrap, as well as in the middle of
one of the plates from Divdyadovo. The ornament incised on the strap end and on the loop
belongs to the Vrap-Erseke type, decorated in
the so-called griffin-vinescroll style. This is
analogous to artifacts from the Central and
Lower Danube region dating from the end of
th th
7 -8 C AD. The floral ornament on the strap
end indicates a common style with the strap
ends from Vrap (Werner 1986, Taf. 25), Erseke
(Avar Treasure 1981, 13, 15; Werner 1986,
Tafeln 271, 291), Lukach and the buckle from
Zlatare (Werner 1986, Taf. 295; 2004,
169, . 61,2). The decoration on the loop is
analogous to a buckle from Vrap (Werner 1986,
Taf. 2516a), an applique from a private collection ( 2004, 177, . 14 1) and the
strap ends from Velino and Kamenovo (, 1993, 45, . 2;
2004, 173, . 10,1). There is a close stylistic similarity to two appliques from Vrap and
another five from Lukach, the main difference
being the rhomboid field in the middle.
The origin and the cultural affiliations of the
strap facings of the Erseke-Vrap type is a question that has given rise to much controversy
74

(Werner 1986; Garam 1997, 23-33; Kiss 1995,

99-122; Stadler 1988/99, 193-217; /
1993, 43-53; Fiedler 1996, 248264; Daim 2000, 156, 158; 1958, 351370; 2000; 2006, 90157; 2004, 150-152).
From a formal point of view the belt sets
were comprised only of a basis strap. There are
no ends for vertical straps like those of the belt
from Lukach. The precious metal of which one
of the belt sets was made and the large sizes of
the strap end suggest their representative character as borne out by the fine workmanship and
the marked symmetry between the separate elements of the ornament. The stylistic affinity
with the artifacts from Velino, Kabiuk (
et al. 2006, 374, 375), Zlatare, Kameno, Gledachevo (/ 2006, 165) supports the theory concerning a fashion amongst
the nobility of wearing belt sets in the griffinvinescroll style which spread in the time of the
lower-Danube khanate. The small number of
these finds supports their elite status. The variety of the motifs and the facings made of silver
as well as of copper alloy, are indisputable proof
of the existence of a developed local producth
tion in 8 C AD ( 2006, 142).
Grave 6, located immediately next to grave
3 was also quite rich in finds.
Thirteen glass beads in different shades of
blue, gray and yellow were found under the cranium of the deceased. Five of these are spherical in shape and one is cylindrical. The other
seven have a flattened profile and are pearshaped and oval with piercings along the longitudinal axis. There are fragments of at least two
more spherical glass beads, as well as of a
bronze compound bead and fragments of another silver bead.
Dimensions: diameter of the spherical 0.0050.006 m, diameter of the flattened 0.011-0.012
m, length 0.015-0.018 m (fig. 14).
This type of beads, in some cases with hollow spherical bronze beads have been found in
the cemeteries of Kyulevcha, Bdintsi and Novi
Pazar ( 1976, 137, 369) as well as
in the Avarian cemeteries (Garam 1975, 82,
fig. 10; Trk 1975, 336, fig. 8).
Four earrings were placed on either side of

An Early Medieval Graveyard in the Divdyadovo Quarter of Shumen (NE Bulgaria)

the cranium of the buried in grave 6. Two of

them were discovered with the crescentic pendant intact but fragmentary; of the other two
only part of the suspension survived. The earrings were cast from a copper alloy. They belong to the type of crescentic earrings with starshaped pendants and rich ornament of pseudogranules. The lower part is crescentic in shape
and to this three contiguous spheres are attached. On two of the preserved pendants (##1,
2), the arcs of the crescents are edged with a
line of pseudo-granules. Another line runs
across one of the arcs (#1). The crescents of
the other two earrings (##3, 4) are also edged
with two lines of pseudo-granules, which bisect
the crescents. The upper arc of the crescents
of these earrings forms a cusp, which terminates in three pseudo-granulated clusters. In
three of these earrings (##1, 3, 4), a star-shaped
pendant is attached to the crescent by a piece
of pseudo-granulated wire (the wire of earring
#1 is plain).
There is a pseudo-granulated hemisphere in
the middle of the pendant and in one of the
cases it is surrounded by an edge. The hemisphere is encircled by a line of granules and a
cluster of rays extend equidistantly from its centre. The latter ones consist of three, six and ten
granules. Three pendants are joined to the
lower arc of the crescent of one of the earrings
(#2). The two end ones consist of three granules (one of them fragmentary) and the one in
the middle of five.
Dimensions:
1. Pendant, length of the crescent 0.015 m,
total length 0.027 m and width 0.019 m (fig. 15/
1).
2. Pendant, length 0.018 m and width
0.020 m (fig. 15/2).
3. Pendant with curved section, total length
(without the curved piece) 0.0305 m, width
0.024 m (fig. 15/3).
4. Pendant with curved section, length of the
crescent 0.017 m, total length (without the
curved piece) 0.033 m, width 0.024 m (fragmentary) (fig. 15/4).
Earring #2 has its closest parallel in a pair of
5

silver earrings from grave 21 of the cemetery

of Grlia (Fiedler 1992, 177, Abb. 39/14-15) as
well as with an earring of unknown provenance
in the National Museum of History, Sofia ( 2007, 228-229, . 32). The crescentic
pendants of two bronze earrings found in grave
55 of the Devnya-3 cemetery and grave 212 of
the cemetery of Razdelna are shaped similarly
to those of earrings ##3, 4 (Fiedler 1992, 178,
483, 502, Taf. 89/11, f. 102/17;
1972, 52; 1978, . 15, 20).
We see the double line of pseudo-granules also
on the bronze earring from grave 6 of Turgovishte-1 cemetery (Fiedler 1992, 177, Abb.
39/13). The star-like pendant of earrings ##1,
3, 4 finds its closest parallel in that of the bronze
earring from grave 6 of the Turgovishte-1 cemetery. In this case the raised hemisphere is encircled not by one but by two lines of pseudogranules. Earrings ##3, 4 have a direct analogy
in a silver earring from the region of Shumen,
which is now in the Regional Museum of His5
tory-Shumen . The bronze earrings from grave
6 belong to the same type as that of the two
gold earrings discovered in the last decade of
the 20th C AD in a grave in the southern part of
the Divdyadovo quarter. The gold earrings are
crescent-like, edged with pseudo-granules. The
all-over decoration of their frontal surface and
of the hollow pendant in the shape of a truncated cone fastened to the lower part offer
close parallels (/ 2007,
143-145, o. 3, 4).
In general the earrings from grave 6 are
similar with earrings from the cemetery
Razdelna and Devnya-3 which it is assumed,
th
th
date in the end of 7 the beginning of 8 C
AD, and the cemetery of Turgovishte dated to
th
the middle or the second half of 8 C AD ( et al. 1997, 141-154;
1975, 77; 1976, 417). This type
of earrings known as Pastyrske are Chilinskas
class II/C (ilinsk 1975, 71, 72), type I according to Aibabin ( 1973, 69, 71) and as
Vazharovas variant 2, subclass 2 of her type V
th
(, 1976, 361). Their use in AD 7 th
8 C AD spread in Pannonia, Southern Yugo-

The authors wish to thank the late Prof. Dr. R. Rashev, senior research associate Milena Tonkova, Prof. Dr. Stanislav Stanilov,
Boyan Ivanov, Tihomir Tihov for their help and information based on unpublished material.

75

Georgi Atanasov/Svetlana Venelinova/Stanimir Stoychev

slavia, Transylvania, Southern Slovakia, Southern Ukraine and the Lower Danube.
The grave pits with their niches, the evidence
of rites aimed at pacifying the spirit of the dead,
the offerings of food placed in the graves and
the large number of grave goods identify the
cemetery in the northern part of the Divdyadovo
quarter as pagan. In the light of the manner in
which the grave pits were laid out, the orientation of the deceased and the burial rite
practiced, the Divdyadovo cemetery finds its
closest parallel in the early medieval bi-ritual
heathen cemeteries of Kyulevcha, Nozharevo,
Topola, Devnya-2 and 3, Novi Pazar, Bdintsi,
as well as with those of Hitovo, Cherna, Devnya-1 and Varna-1 and 2 all in NE Bulgaria.
It corresponds to the characteristic features of
the bi-ritual heathen cemetery of the Shumen
group rich grave goods including the deposition of weapons and the burial of horses
( 1976, 84). The typological characteristics of the amphora-shaped vessel, the
iron axe, the crescentic earrings with a starshaped pendant and strap end decoration with
ornamentation of the Vrap-Erseke type are of
great significance for elucidating the dating of
the Divdyadovo cemetery. It must be assumed
that the three graves examined in the northern
part of the site belong to a pagan early-medieval heathen cemetery that existed in the first
th
decades of the 8 C AD. The graves excavated a generation ago in the southern part of
the district are situated about 1.5 km away.
They probably formed part of another cemetery
th
th
of a later period (9 -10 C AD) when a settlement was built immediately above the earlymedieval heathen cemetery. The storage pits
and the sunken house located near graves 1, 3
and 6 (fig. 1) offer evidence for this.
The large number of grave offerings 26 in
number, several of high quality, the type of grave
construction and the traces of burial ritual prove
that the man buried in grave 3 was of high social status and was probably closely related to
th
the Bulgarian ruler in the beginning of 8 C AD.
The parallels offered for the earrings and the
belt mounts are proof of the existence of local
workshops where luxury adornments were produced for the needs of the Bulgarian aristoc76

racy.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
, . . 1973. .
3, 62-72.
, . 1995. . 2, 5-17.
, ./ - ./
. 1997. . , . In:

3. . 141-154.
, ./ . 2007. . , . .
In:
. . . . . 138-153.
, . 1981.
V- . In: -, 3. . 16-61.
, . 1977.

. 2, 30-49.
, . 1976. .
V-
. .
, . 1955.
. , 11-42.
, . 1981.
. In: - 2. . 160169.
, . 1978. . V
(), 120-152.
, . 1972.
3 .
V (), 42-72.
, . 1971. .
V (), 57-74.
-, . 1981. . In: - 2. . 160-169.
a-, . 1977.
( V ). .
a-, ./ ./ .
1989. . , . In: 1. . 221-230.

An Early Medieval Graveyard in the Divdyadovo Quarter of Shumen (NE Bulgaria)

, . 2007.
. In: . .
. . . 224-239.
, . 2004.
. V, 150-182.
, . 2004.
(V- ). .
, . 2002.
,
. In:
V-V
. . 123-136.
, . 1989.
. , . In:
1. . 221230.
, . 1958. . Dacia 2 (NS), 351-370.
, . 1934. .
In: 1. . 429-438.
, . 1995. . , V, 1,
33-40.
, ./ ./ ./
. 2006.
, .
, 374-375.
, ./ ./ . 2006. . ,
. , 375.
, ./ . 1989. . , . In: 1. . 214-220.
, . 2006.
(VII-IX ). .
, . 1975.
. . 5, 73-77.
, ./ . 1993.
. 1, 43-53.
, . 1948.
( ).
, 243-262.
, ./ . 1957.
. .
, . 2007.
( -

). In: .
. . . 154166.
, . in the press. . In:
. ,
2007.
./ . 2006. . , , . , 164-166.
, . . 1989. . In: 1. . 177-186.
, . 1989.
(V- .). In:
1. . 87104.
, . 1959.
. , 243-262.
Avar Treasure 1981. Catalogue of The Avar Treasure. Sotheby Parke Bernet & Co. London.
ilinsk, Zl. 1975. Frauenschmuck aus dem 7. 8.
Jahrhundert im Karpatenbecken. Slovensk Archeolgia XXII, 1, 63-96.
Daim, F. 2000. Byzantinische Grtelgarnituren des
8. Jahrhunderts. In: Die Awaren am Rand der Byzantinischen Welt. Innsbruck.
Fiedler, U. 1996. Die Sptawarenzeitlichen Grtelbestadteile von Vrap-Erseke aus Velino (Bez Varna, Bulgarien). Germania 74, 248-264.
Fiedler, U. 1992. Studien zu Grberfeldern des 6. bis
9. Jahrhunderts an der unteren Donau. Bonn.
Garam, . 1997. ber den Schatzfund von Vrap
(Albanien). AA 49, 23-33.
Garam, . 1975. The Szebeny I III cemetry Avar
Finds in the Hungarian national museum. Budapest. 13110.
Kiss, G. 1995. A ksi avar aranyozott vdiszek.
Somogyi mzeumok kzlemnyei XI, 99-122.
Kovrig I. 1975. The Szob Cemetry. Avar Finds in The
Hungarian national museum. Budapest. 159-209.
Stadler, P. 1988/99. Argumente fr die Echtheit des
Avar Tresure. Mitteilungen der Antropologishen
Gesellschaft in Wien, 118/119, 193-217.
Trk C. 1975. The Visznek cemetri. In: Avar Finds
in The Hungarian national museum. Budapest. 323-343
Werner, J. 1986. Der Schatzfund von Vrap in Albanien. Wien.

77

Georgi Atanasov/Svetlana Venelinova/Stanimir Stoychev

( )
/ /

()
2004 .
.
. .
.
- . (. 1/V) (. 1/, , V). 17 . ,
.
,

, ,
.

. V- . , ,
. 2005 .

.
, ,
. ,
,
- .

. 1 (. 2).
3 ( 3, 4) 6 ( 5, 6). ,
. 1, 3 6 . 3 6
. 3
40 , 1,75 ,
. -,
. 6
16 , 1,72 ,
,

78

.
, .
,
,
. 6
.
.
6
.

3 6
.
. 3 6
. 3 .
3 , , . ,

, . 3
.
, 1, 3 6, .
.

3.
- (. 7). ,
, ,
.
, , (. 8).
. , . , ,
. -
. 3 . , -
.

An Early Medieval Graveyard in the Divdyadovo Quarter of Shumen (NE Bulgaria)

V .
3
.
(. 9/2).

1, .
- (. 9/1).



. , ,

(. 9/3).
,
3.
(?)
(. 10).
13 , 2 . . , . ,
(. 11). ( 12/1, 13/1). .


.
.

,
.
( 12/2-3, 13/2).

.
.
.
(. 12/9-12).

.
(. 13/2).

,
. ,

(. 12/4-8).

. . -

,
(. 13/4). .

.
, .
.

. ,
,
, ( 12/12A, 16).

.
, .


, (. 12/13).
3 .
, . . , , ,
.
.
. , ,
, ,
.

, 1 .
-, -.
, , , , ,
. , , .
. .
, ,
,

79

Georgi Atanasov/Svetlana Venelinova/Stanimir Stoychev

V .
6.
13 , , . , ,
,
(. 14).

6
.
(. 15/1-4).
. V-V , , , , .
,
. ,
V . ,

60 90 1,5
.

80

- (-) ,
. , 1, 3
6 (. 1). 26 , ,
, 3 , V .
,
,
,
.
Georgi Atanasov MA
Svetlana Venelinova PhD
lihnida_sv@abv.bg
Stanimir Stoychev MA
s_stoichev@mai.bg
Shumen Regional History Museum
Slavyanski Bul. 17
BG-9700 Shumen