An ancient incense vessel in the shape of a bull’s head, estimated to date from the sixth century BCE, has been found by archaeologists on St Kirik island off the Bulgarian Black Sea town of Sozopol.
The discovery was made on the last hour of the last day of the 2012 summer archaeological season.
Public broadcaster Bulgarian National Television quoted John Stevenson, a Harvard student volunteer working on the dig, as saying that the find was a great surprise and one of the most interesting made this season.
Archaeologist Dragomir Garbov said that the vessel probably was used by the earliest settlers in Apollonia Pontica, an ancient name for Sozopol.
The head of archaeological excavations, Kristina Panayotova, said that the find was “very rare”, the only such incense vessel in the shape of a bull’s head that had been found in Bulgaria.
“This really is the crown of our work on St. Kirik even just for this season,” Panayotova said.
Thirty-five volunteers, including archaeological students from the United States, Canada and the UK, joined in the work on St Kirik island this archaeological season.
(Photo: Clive Leviev-Sawyer)