Thracian temple, sanctuary of Zeus and Hera found in Bulgaria

July 22, 2013:

"Archaeologists in Bulgaria have found a Thracian temple and a sanctuary of Zeus and Hera in Sredna Gora in the central part of the country.

The discovery was made at a dig in the Kozi Gramadi region near the village of Starosel in the Hissarya municipality by a team of archaeologists from the National History Museum led by Associate Professor Ivan Hristov, National History Museum director Bozhidar Dimitrov told Bulgarian media on July 22 2013.

The area where the large Thracian temple as well as the sanctuary of Zeus and Hera was found covers about 50 sq m.

The earliest use of the site is estimated to date from the early Iron Age, about the eighth to sixth centuries BCE.

The sanctuary of Zeus and Hera is believed to have been destroyed in the fifth century CE to enable Christians to build a nearby small single-nave church.

Other discoveries at the site included coins from the era of kings Philip II and Alexander the Great and from the late Roman republic, as well as about 1000 fragments of ceramic vessels used for offerings in the sanctuary, Dimitrov told local news agency Focus.

Dimitrov said that work by archaeologists at the site this season will continue until early September."

(http://sofiaglobe.com/2013/07/22/archaeology-thracian-temple-sanctuary-of-zeus-and-hera-found-in-bulgarias-sredna-gora/)