Cape St. Athanasius Ancient Settlement

The Cape St. Athanasius fortress is an archaeological site on a Black Sea promontory near Byala, Varna Province, with occupation spanning from the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age through a Thracian religious sanctuary (6th-5th c. BC) and a Roman settlement (2nd-3rd c. AD). The visible fortifications date to the Early Byzantine period under Emperors Anastasius I (491-518) and Justinian I (527-565). Excavations led by Prof. Valeri Yotov revealed an Early Christian basilica, two baptisteries, a golden ring depicting Jerusalem's Rotunda of Anastasis, and a marble altar from an imperial Parian workshop. The settlement was destroyed around 614 AD during the Avar and Slav invasions.