author: arch. Irina Eftimova
The Roman thermae of ancient Odessos is the largest public ancient building discovered so far in Bulgaria and the fourth largest in Europe. The archaeological site ranks in importance next to the thermae of Diocletian and Caracallain Rome and the Imperial thermae in Trier. There are numerous scientific publications about the heritage site. Its active health and social function, as well as the architectural style and dating have been clarified.
However, the history of the scientific research is no less interesting than that of the cultural-historical object itself. The scientific overlays by each successive researcher and the curious situations in this process expose the actual image and the cultural values of the heritage object.
These are the three main stages in the scientific research:
I period:
The "Roman Tower" (as it is known by the locals) has been identified as a cultural heritage site. For the first time, the site was studied by the brothers Karel and Herman Shkorpil (Vol. I, Bulletin of the Varna Archaeological Society, 1909).
Apart from discovering the high degree of cultural value, they set the stage for the protection of the site by ensuring with serious persistence the necessary urban regulation of the square and the release of the adjacent areas for future archaeological research. Despite the local government's attempt to implement partial and ineffective urban planning measures, the Shkorpil brothers managed to approve their proposed plan. It remains almost unchanged to this day. (Vol. IIV, Bulletin of the Varna Archaeological Society, 1921).
Due to the lack of sufficient information and the impossible physical access to the site, the first hypotheses are referred to a large public building. In many of their publications, the Shkorpil brothers identify the site as an "acropolis".
II period:
After almost the entire square was set aside for exploration and exposure of the immovable cultural heritage, there began the real exploration activity. The occasion for the discovery of the underground channel system and the initiation of systematic archaeological excavations is extremely interesting. In his notes, the archaeologist Milko Mirchev (who studied the site between 1959 and 1972) tells about an incident, known among the local population, about the accidental fall of a horse into a filled-up well behind the church "St. Athanasius". This happened in the 1930’s and led to the partial study of the underground channels and the establishment of their connection with the so-called "Roman tower".
In 1940, Sergey Pokrovsky (then director of the Archaeological Museum-Varna) conducted partial excavations in the area of the "St. Athanasius" church. After providing a significant amount of funds for the purpose, the neighborhood was cleared of buildings and embankments in the period 1945 - 1960.
With the release of the terrain begins the actual study of the site, which elucidates its real function and stylistic characteristics. The scientific studies of the Roman thermae by the Archaeological Museum -Varna in the period 1959-1971 clarified the purpose, the plan scheme, as well as the exact dating. Unfortunately, the leading archaeologist - Milko Mirchev couldn’t publish the intended monograph, but bequeathed a huge amount of material for scientific research.
III period:
The research activity of Milko Mirchev was continued by Dr. Petko Georiev and Assoc. Dr. Arch. Krasimira Vacheva in the period 1977-1992. The team conducted a detailed architectural study and a systematic scientific evaluation of the sculptural decoration, which led to new scientific conclusions regarding the overall architectural image of the ancient building.
Assoc. Dr. Arch. Kr. Vacheva is the author of thefirst graphic reconstruction of the object. The unique pilaster statues of Nikeand Hermes, as well as many other curious heritageobjects fromthe Roman thermae, described and analyzed in detail in the publicationsof Dr. P. Georgiev, can be seen today in the Regional History Museum - Varna.
The history of the Roman thermae scientific research is a testimony not only to the great past of the local civilization, but also to the common efforts to preserve and understand our past. In this sense, it is a fabulous urban legend of mutual continuity based on cultural heritage and universal values.
*Numerous experts on movable and immovable cultural heritage and museum workers also took part in the studies and also made a serious scientific contribution. In the article, only the leading archaeologists of the main research periods of the site as an architectural-building immovable cultural value are honored.
We share our grate gratitude to Dr. Igor Lazarenko, director of the Regional History Museum - Varna, for the assistance in the research activities of our team and the granted access to the invaluable archives of the museum.