Sozopol

Sozopol is one of the oldest towns on Bulgarian Thrace's Black Sea coast [1]. The first settlement on the site dates back to the Bronze Age [1]. Undersea explorations in the region of the port reveal relics of dwellings, ceramic pottery, stone and bone tools from that era [1]. Many anchors from the second and first millennium BC have been discovered in the town's bay [1]. The town was founded in the 7th century BC by ancient Greek colonists from Miletus as Antheia [1]. The town established itself as a trade and naval centre in the following centuries and became one of the largest and richest Greek colonies in the Black Sea region [1]. The city erected, in 5th century BC, a colossal statue of the god Apollo which was 13 m tall [1]. In 72 BC, the Romans under Marcus Lucullus captured the city and moved the sculpture to Rome on the Capitolium [1].