Archaeological testimonies of Bulgarian presence in the Central Balkans during the ninth and tenth centuries

Abstract

With the arival of the Bulgarians in the Lower Danube region around the year 680 a new chapter of the history of Southeast Europe was opened. A militant alliance, they formed a state which was to become the main rival to the Byzantine Empire and the other newly-formed states in the region for three hundred years. In addition to the core area where the capitals of Pliska and Preslav were founded, Early Mediaeval Bulgaria extended over much wider territories, including those of present-day Romania, Serbia and FYR Macedonia. In contrast to the relatively abundant data from the written sources, archaeological markers of Bulgarian presence and influences on these lands remain insufficiently studied. However, in recent years one may observe a growing interest in this topic, especially among students of the Early Middle Ages in the Carpathian Basin. To summarise the evidence of expansion of the Bulgarian Khanate (the First Bulgarian State, an Empire since 917), that is to better understand the character and the ‘intensity’ of Bulgarian rule in the Central Balkans, I shall try to confront the existing archaeological record from these parts with historical knowledge. The period of Bulgarian political influence over the Central Balkans, which lasted for some two hundred years, did not leave much material evidence for their presence there. The indicative finds are widely distributed, but still few in relation to the size of this territory. In contrast to the Middle Danube region, where a ‘Bulgarian’ interpretation is in many cases not reliable, with a striking discrepancy between historical and archaeological data on Belgrade, the sample from present-day southwestern Serbia provides more solid grounds for analysis. A larger concentration of characteristic finds has been observed there, apparently indicating how far west Bulgarian rule may have reached. That these objects did not come to those distant areas through trade or some other contacts of a similar nature is suggested by their statistical representation at different sites.