Monastery of the Bulgarian Patriarch and French ring found in medieval capital

Submitted by Milica on Mon, 2009-08-10 12:36
A team of archaeologists, led by Professor Nikolay Ovcharov, has discovered the walls of what they believe is the the Monastery of the Bulgarian Patriarch in the 13th century in Veliko Tarnovo, the country's medieval capital.

In addition, they found a silver ring with a figure of lilies linking the owner to medieval France. "I don't claim that the ring [belonged] to a king but it certainly was worn by a notable. Whether the notable buried there was a French or a Bulgarian notable, we cannot say for sure but we are certain that at that time the Bulgarian high-life was already influenced by French 'fashion' and style of clothing and jewelry that was brought by the Crusades", Professor Ovcharov said.