Old Bulgarian rampart wall

The Asparukh rampart is a facility of the defense system of the First Bulgarian Kingdom. It is connected with the permanent establishment of the Asparukh Bulgarians in today's north-eastern lands of Bulgaria and the creation of a single fortification system of earthworks, ditches and camps located along the borders of the new Bulgarian state. Due to their efficiency and low economic value, they were widely used at the beginning of the 9th century, and based on their location, an accurate hypothesis can be made about the borders of the First Bulgarian Kingdom.

The rampart is an earth embankment that blocks access to a certain strategic location. It consists of an embankment and a ditch. It blocked the wide sandy terrace between the slopes of the Avrensko and Fragensko plateaus, which separates Lake Varna from the sea.

The first data on The Asparukh rampart can be found in a map from 1829, authored by Gen. Helmut von Moltke, who depicts a series of small mounds oriented to the north.

The doyens of Bulgarian archeology - Hermengild and Karel Shkorpil - made the first targeted studies of the facility. The first written information can be found in the Bulletin of the Varna Archaeological Society from 1911, where the rampart is described as an "embankment", called by the Turkish name "Kum Tepeler". Even then, the Shkorpil brothers attributed the defensive fortification to a common system of "five embankments" along the Black Sea coast, establishing their common cultural affiliation and dating from marble stones found near Byala and near Varna, with identical signs written on them. According to Shkorpil, the shaft was about 4m high and had a length of about 2.5km, but its northern part was destroyed by the overflow of the lake. During its excavation in 1908 and 1909. pieces of construction debris such as bricks, roof tiles were found on its surface, and quarry stone, bricks, parts of marble capitals, pillars and smooth tiles were found inside the embankment.

In 1910, during the laying of the new water pipeline, the shaft was excavated to a greater depth and then it became clear that its core consisted of construction - dry masonry between 2.5 and 4 m thick. Squares were found in the building, identical to those from the walls of the temple, discovered nearby - in the town of Pirinch Tepe (today's island area). In this period, unique objects of movable cultural heritage were found, such as the limestone (1911-Shkorpil) or marble (1979-Rashev) relief plate with a depicted cross, which is believed to be part of the altar of the temple.

In 1921. the Shkorpil brothers recommend that the area be reforested. On their initiative, in the 1930s, two monuments were erected - a bust of Asparukh (missing) in the northern part, where part of the development and columns with the inscription "People's Park" still exist in a derelict area, and in the southern part - a full-length sculpture of the Asarukh warrior by Kiril Shivarov.

Currently, the total length of the preserved structure is about 400m. Nowadays, the shaft falls into the park of the Asparuhovo quarter, is in good condition and part of it is socialized - entered into the park space. A small part is located on the island area, in a deserted park, richly wooded, with preserved partial landscaping.

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