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A rare gold coin was discovered during the excavations of the Rusokastro fortress
Monday, 17 Jul 2017 - Archeological Museum
During the excavations of the Rusokastro Fortress, a rare golden coin was discovered by the Byzantine Emperor Phocas. It has a weight of 4.5 grams.
Emperor Phocas ruled from 602 to 610 AD. He was at the head of a rebellion by which Emperor Maurikius, who was murdered with his sons, was overthrown. Phocas ruled the Byzantine Empire in a particularly despotic way, which quickly sets a large part of society against him. In the army, he was a regular centurion, which further created anger over his rule. In a final account, in 608 AD, Carthage broke out against the emperor, which proved to be successful. The leader of the rebellion, the future emperor Heraclius, personally decapitates Phocas and was crowned Byzantine basil.
The first construction of fortress walls on the rocky hill at Rusokastro is in the 6th century. The discovery of the coin shows that the fortress was actively functioning until the beginning of the 7th century. It was re-settled by Bulgarian population in the 9th century. During the first half of the 13th century, new fortified walls and towers were built probably under the rule of Tsar Ivan Asen II. Its area covers 52 dekars, making it the largest medieval fortress in South Bulgaria similar to Tsarevets, Trapezitsa, Cherven, Kaliakra. The retained walls are more than 5 meters high.

The fortress is studied by a team of Regional historical museum Burgas, led by Milen Nikolov and Dorothea Gjurzijska. In the current campaign, the citadel of the fortress is being revealed, with the aim to proceed with its conservation, restoration and socialization.
The excavations are funded by the Municipality of Kameno, the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Bulgaria and the National Museum of History.


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