Bansko needs to correct a major fact in its city guide, Katya Melamed, the archaeologist supervising ongoing digs in the vicinity of Bulgaria’s major ski resort, said to The Sofia Echo. All reference books state that the first signs of settlements can be dated back to the 15th century, Melamed said, but recent findings indicate that active life in the area started around fourth century CE.

Her team is continuing a series of excavations that initially began almost 15 years ago. Now they are looking into a large building from the seventh century, and with a quite complex architectural plan, Melamed said. The remaining structure displays evidence of adjoining spacious warehouses with floors, covered with wooden grids.

According to Melamed, this was an early Christian basilica as it is evident by the fragments of stained glass as well as richly adorned Byzantine glasses recently unearthed.

The scholar suggested that most likely the basilica was burnt down by a Slavic tribe that later built a settlement over the ruins. Melamed discovered another layer of remnants consisting of rectangular-like dwellings. Later on, around the 10th century, another religious building was erected, a church perhaps, which also crumbled in a fire, the archaeologist said.

What happened after that is hard to determine, Melamed said, but the settlement was abruptly abandoned and turned into a necropolis. More than 150 graves have been located, as the majority of them have been excavated. Melamed said that the findings are typical for a burial site, such as various adornments and coins.

Thus far, the most valuable objects Melamed and her team have found are a silver ring with a engraved cross and an inscription written in Greek, as well as a coin left from the time of Bulgarian ruler Ivan Assen II (1218/1241).

Melamed said that a great quantity of Slavic pottery has been unearthed. The basilica’s roof was covered with locally manufactured tiles. Earlier archaeological discoveries have found that a Slavic pottery factory functioned in the area and supplied the nearby region.