Archaeologists in Bulgaria have uncovered a Roman jar skeleton inside a massive storage vessel at the Roman colony of Deultum, evidence that a person likely sought refuge during an assault more than 1,600 years ago and died as fire swept the site.
The team exposed the giant container on Aug. 10 in a Late Roman turret, a small tower forming part of Deultum’s western gate complex. According to lead excavator Lyudmil Vagalinski of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, the city endured repeated incursions by East Germanic groups and Huns in the fourth and fifth centuries, though which attack coincided with the death remains uncertain.
Roman jar skeleton linked to siege and fire
Inside the vessel, identified as a dolium, archaeologists found the individual’s remains along with two iron knives and a belt. Dolia were the largest class of ancient pottery, used to store commodities such as olive oil and wine. While the biggest examples held more than 260 gallons, the preserved lower portion of this dolium measured about 3 feet in diameter.
The discovery was unexpected even though the team had been excavating the northern turret of the western gate. Vagalinski noted that human remains rarely turn up within ancient urban precincts except under extraordinary circumstances, such as earthquakes, enemy assaults or volcanic eruptions, because the dead were typically buried outside city walls. In many cases, survivors did not realize bodies lay beneath collapsed structures.
The context at Deultum points to one of those exceptional episodes. Around the dolium, the team documented extensive burning, including ash and charcoal, shattered bricks and tiles, blackened walls, melted glass, and domestic animal bones. Numerous bronze coins likely dropped amid the turmoil were also recovered.
Researchers suggest residents may have driven livestock into the fortification upon news of an imminent attack. The person in the dolium, thought to be a young man, appears to have entered to hide or take shelter.
Ash underneath the skeleton indicates he climbed in after the blaze had started. Vagalinski said the individual held an iron knife between his legs as a defensive measure, with a second knife tucked into a belt.
Based on the body’s posture, similar to someone asleep, the team believes there was no attempt to escape the ceramic container. After the violence, inhabitants leveled the ruined tower and laid a higher floor, apparently unaware that a fellow citizen remained at the bottom of the vessel.
Dating and next steps in the Deultum excavation
Preliminary assessment places the event around A.D. 400. A more precise date is expected once field data are fully processed. The skeletal remains have been transferred to Sofia for analysis by a physical anthropologist.
Excavations will resume next summer, when the team plans to expose the entire western Late Roman gate, dated to about A.D. 300, and complete the study of its northern turret where the dolium was found. Earlier this year, researchers also identified an older latrina near the gate, in use between the second and third centuries.
The Bulgarian Academy of Sciences oversees numerous archaeological projects across the country, and further details on its work can be found through the institution’s official website. Comparable large-scale discoveries of ancient currency, such as the Kolomna coin hoard of 2,600 silver pieces unearthed, highlight how material remains can illuminate the economic and social conditions of past communities.
For more background on the broader Roman Empire and its provinces, readers can consult resources from the British Museum, which maintains extensive collections and research on Roman history and archaeology.