The town of Sandanski today

Sandanski is a town and a recreation centre in south-western Bulgaria, part of Blagoevgrad Province. Named after Bulgarian revolutionary Yane Sandanski, it is located in a valley at the foot of Pirin Mountain, on both banks of the Sandanska Bistritsa River. Another famous native son of the town was Spartacus, the Roman slave who launched an uprising in 73-71 BC.
Sandanski's favourable position, suitable climate (with the highest average annual temperature in the country, +14,70°C) and the concentration of mineral water springs in the area are all reasons for the town's fame as a SPA and recreation center.

Text and map of Sandanski from Wikipedia

Photos of Sandanski

Town development in IV-VI c.

The region of the present town of Sandanski belonged to the East Roman Empire at the time mentioned. In IV-VI c. the town was a religious and administrative center of the region. In 505 a reform was made by emperor Anastasius concerning the cities governance. A new ruling body was created, consisiting of the bishop, large landlords and curiales. In 530 with a special edict the bishop is pointed as head of the municipal governance. Along with establishment of the Christianity the city centres were those that were mainly promoted to episcopates as the church administration was following the municipal structure. Each municipality presented a separate “parikia” /a church unit/, governed by a bishop. In this sense, the town beneath the present Sandanski turns into an important Christian center, a bishop’s headquarter. This is proved by the early Christian cult buildings, epigraphic monuments and others that point to the fact that there was an intensive churh building in the period IV-VI c.
According to an early Christian inscription the territory of the late antique town below present Sandanski has been a part of the East Ilirik prefecture. The church episcopacy is in accordance to the town’s administrartive rank. It has probably been a part of the Thesaloniki exarchate or to te Episcopate center in Stobi.
In the early Christian town, regardless of the penetration of the church in all aspects of life, the so called curials or decurions had a significant role. They were average landlords who participated in the city councils /curia/ as their number in the bigger towns like Sandanski reached even up to 100 people. In I-III c. they had a considerable autonomy and were elected by their fellow-citizens to handle the local affairs but subsequently they became an emperors authority. In III c. their post became inheritable and was passed from father to son. The curials became a close class and the state used them for its town organizational and financial policy.
The Christianity influenced all aspect of the municipal life especially after V c. The town emerged as a big economic and religious center and it was presented by its bishop at all levels in the country. The alliance between the state and the Church gave the episcopate many rights and advantages which made it a main power in the municipality. First of all, the episcopate, respectively the Bishop obtained property – fields, forests, houses, farms, villas, etc. through purchase and testaments. The income these properties generated became the main source for episcopacies and monasteries maintenance. Second, the Bishop obtained huge judical and administartive rights. He participated in the municipal officials elections and even selected candidates for the post of the province superior. They also had the right to monitor the spending of municipal resources and to disallow overbearing taxes and duties on the citizens. They could also supervise prisons and watch for timely consideration of the cases by the judical authorities. Bishops even controlled the work of the local provincial deputies, judges and officials and, for every concern of the population, especially in the legal field, they could inform the emperor.
Third, all members of the churh administration were only subordinate to the church court. The bishop even had the rights to consider civil cases if the citizens agreed to refer to him.
In this form, the municipality of the town below present Sandanski existed until the beginning of the big barbarian invasions in the beginning of VI c. and the slavic settling on the Balkans. The ethnic picture on the peninsula has then changed generally and from VI-VII c the history in these lands changes dramatically.

 

History of the archaeological research

In 1989 the local authorities began a project for a new city hall. Having in mind the density of the archaeological finds in the area, a team of archaeologists from the local museum as well as from the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences made a research of the plot, designated for the new building. The result was the discovery of one of the most interesting and represenattive monuments of the Christian culture and architecture in the region – the Bishop complex.
In its center there is a classical 3 body basilica, impressing with its grandeur, interior architecture and magnificent floor mosaics and frescos. It has one apse inserted in a rectangle. The building was made by round river stones divided by 3 to 5 rows of bricks, which is the late Roman building style, called “opus maximum” or mixed building, commonly used in the East Roman Empire.
In the researched parts of the basilica there were found many marble elements – pillars, bases, capitals, cornices, barrier stones with human images and floral ornaments. The nave /the central space in the church/ has one main and two side bodies, divided by pillar rows in Roman-Corinthian style. They have reached the impressive 5 m height and the side walls have reached 12 m. The central ridge has been about 15-16 m high. With the time this temple has been modificated at least two times as new spaces have been added. The last researches of the site are concentrated in its west part where a baptistery was found – a facility that is unique in the country by its shape, size and level of preservation.
The future research of the baptistery and its neighbouring rooms will clarify their purpose.

The current tasks for this season will be a research of the south side of the atrium in order to reveal the south wall behind the colonade as well as to trace the connection between the basilica and the town.
Working hours will begin early in the morning at 6:30 – 7:00 and will end at 12:00 as the climate in summer is very hot in Sandanski. In the afternoon courses for mosaic production will be carried out for those who are interested. The idea is to create mosaics, similar to those found on the floors of the basilica and of course, to simulate the same working techniques.

 

 

 

Site Gallery