Heraclea Sintica: Discovering a marble (demi)god

The colonnade at Heraclea Syntytica was restored under a European project for conservation, restoration and exhibition, and was presented to the public in May

Heraclea Sintica: Discovering a marble (demi)god

The well-preserved statue found in the ancient city near Petrich has sparked worldwide interest, attracting tourists from near and far

The colonnade at Heraclea Syntytica was restored under a European project for conservation, restoration and exhibition, and was presented to the public in May

© Tsvetelina Belutova


Southwest Bulgaria, weekday, late afternoon, 37 degrees Celsius. The ancient hidden city of Heraclea Sintica near Petrich is coming back to life. Five archaeologists, 33 workers and nine foreign student volunteers are digging at two sites in the western part of the excavation. There is also a cluster of experts in the eastern one. Groups of tourists of varying size arrive and tour the remains periodically.

These days there is an unusually increased presence of historians, archaeologists, restorers, journalists, logisticians and just kibitzers. To complete the picture, a flock of sheep crosses like a centipede, the volcanic hill of Kozhuh, at the foot of which is the ancient Macedonian-Roman city.

Professor Ludmil Vagalinski tells about the ancient statue to colleagues, journalists and tourists
Photographer: Tsvetelina Belutova

The marble demigod comes back to light

"Every second person comes to ask where the statue is,"notes guide Georgi Velikov from the tourist site. He refers to the marble sculpture, whose image toured the world after it was unveiled by Prof. Lyudmil Vagalinski, the head of the archaeological team and his colleagues on 3 July. From the outset it was defined as unique - made of a whole piece of marble 2.10 m long, and a rare case for Bulgaria of a statue whose head is left on its shoulders. The picture was in all the world's media, from Reuters and France Press to the New York Times and CNN, raising the profile of Heraclea Sintica and Bulgaria. Even in Greece the find was recognized as an undisputed success of Bulgarian archaeology.

Initially, the statue was believed to be of the god Hermes, dating from the II c. AD. On Thursday we see it in the twilight of the cloaca maxima, the great canal of the ancient city, in preparation for an encounter with the light after 18 centuries in the dark. The pose is now familiar - with his back to the world and his face hidden in the wall, as if he is offended and ashamed of his unenviable position. Time has had its say - the marble is fragile in places, it is patinated, the hands are gone, and the right ankle was cracked in antiquity.

Before the face was revealed, archaeologists assumed the statue was of the god Hermes. It turned out to have portrait features and the scales tipped towards the hypothesis that it was a deified ruler
Photographer: Tsvetelina Belutova

During the relocation of the statue to the Petrich museum two days later, the face was finally revealed and that brought the identity into question. Because of his portrait features, Prof. Vagalinski suggests that the sculpture more likely depicts a deified ruler. The dating has also been pushed back - to around I c. AD or earlier.

On Friday, the 600-700 kg was successfully transported to the historical museum in Petrich, where it is expected to remain permanently. The find was first lifted out of the canal, packed in a crate, lifted by crane and transported. Days before, a team of different experts had discussed options, looking for the most optimal and risk-free one, and the moves were planned step by step.

The statue on its way to the museum
Photographer: Tsvetelina Belutova
Source: archaeologia-bulgarica

See the discoveries as they happen

On Thursday Prof. Vagilinski looked like an orchestra conductor trying to pay attention to all concerned. "Archaeology provides information. We retrieve it with many different methods from the ground and tell the story, in this case of this city, truthfully with facts," he explains.

The archaeologist reined in inquisitive citizens who peered overhead, advising them to be careful for the sake of their own safety. "Yesterday we found out and today we are here," said not only Bulgarians from all over the country, but also foreigners from Greek beaches who had rushed to Petrich. Apart from that, the site has a permanent circle of admirers who are visiting for the fifth or sixth time, follow every step of the excavations and practically exercise civil control over the work on them, Velkov says.

"See the discoveries as they happen" is the motto of the media platform Archaeologia-Bulgarica, which the professor and his colleagues have maintained for six years. Since 1997 they have also published a specialized journal for archaeology with the same name. Vagalinski has also published two volumes on Heraclea Sintica, which are freely available on the website. Most posts on the platform gain around 50,000 readers. However, news of the statue reached a whooping 830,000 people in two days, and now more than a million. "It seems a bit overblown to me, but I am not the one to judge these things," the professor says.

At Heraclea Sintica, archaeologists have so far excavated parts of two residential and craftsmen quarters of the city, the central square, auxiliary rooms to the square, a civil basilica, an early Christian basilica, early Christian burials, a section of a Roman fortress wall, etc.
Photographer: Tsvetelina Belutova

As a result, "the tension skyrocketed and the responsibility became very big," he adds. The discovery came by accident, during an emergency conservation of an old excavation. The archaeologists feel mobilized to hand it over to the museum so they can relax and get back to their normal planned rhythm of work. "The tension is not only created by the media, and because of the people coming, but we also have an issue with the private property that has not been resolved since 2017," Vagalinski says.

Excavations continue

The town's name comes from the hero Heracles and the Thracian tribe of Sinti. It is sandwiched between the Struma and Strumeshnitsa rivers and played the role of a northeastern bastion guarding the Macedonian kingdom from the raids of the Thracian tribes. The Romans conquered it in the second century BC. Its active life is thought to have been about 800 years - between the 4th century BC and the 4th century AD. Two successive earthquakes destroyed the city, but the accompanying floods allowed it to be well preserved.

The hall of the History museum in Petrich, where the newly unveiled statue will be placed
Photographer: Tsvetelina Belutova

Excavations are now continuing in the western portico of the forum. In parallel, field conservation of Roman cisterns in the south is underway. Archaeologists also uncovered a III c. burnt dwelling in which ten years ago they discovered two bronze statuettes - of an adult Heracles with a lion skin and of Hermes, which are now in the museum in Petrich. They have also found more than 30 loom weights and want to finish their work so they can guess how big it was. The site is buzzing with activity, with archaeology and tourism developing in parallel.

A city discovered after 100 years

The museum in Petrich, which now houses the statue, is a pleasant surprise - new, modern and spacious. Opened in 2022, it was created under a program for cross-border cooperation and renovation of old military buildings and infrastructure. It is located on the former site of border troops and in a former workshop for the repair of military equipment. There are over 50 acres of parkland. Its museum collection dates back to the 1960s and covers a variety of fields, but for two decades, the focus has been archaeology and things related to Heraclea Sintica.

Photographer: Tsvetelina Belutova

On Thursday, the site for the statue in the museum's auditorium had already been chosen. Before that, it will be cleaned and restored and, according to the director's estimate, it will be on display for the public by the end of the month. It will be located between a first-century marble togathos (statue of a headless man, 1.90m), discovered in 2018 also next to the canal - probably of a local nobleman - and a marble female head with traces of hair dye. The hall also contains a preserved third- to fourth-century gold necklace (50 c.c., 23 carats), a terracotta lamp with a satyr, and ceramic theater masks made in the city - one sign that there was probably an amphitheater. There are also 4 thousand (representative) coins attesting to Heraclea's extensive trade connections and its own coinage.

The city has now almost completed one of two Visitor Centres in the vicinity of the ancient town. It will host a restaurant, café, and augmented reality room. There will be five bungalows for 40 children for children's camps, a recreation of a Roman bath with mineral water from another local site of interest, Rupite. A small caravan site is also planned in the area.

Southwest Bulgaria, weekday, late afternoon, 37 degrees Celsius. The ancient hidden city of Heraclea Sintica near Petrich is coming back to life. Five archaeologists, 33 workers and nine foreign student volunteers are digging at two sites in the western part of the excavation. There is also a cluster of experts in the eastern one. Groups of tourists of varying size arrive and tour the remains periodically.

These days there is an unusually increased presence of historians, archaeologists, restorers, journalists, logisticians and just kibitzers. To complete the picture, a flock of sheep crosses like a centipede, the volcanic hill of Kozhuh, at the foot of which is the ancient Macedonian-Roman city.

Professor Ludmil Vagalinski tells about the ancient statue to colleagues, journalists and tourists
Photographer: Tsvetelina Belutova
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