Balkan Heritage Field School

Preservation and Management of Cultural Heritage Sites: UNESCO Balkan Heritage Foundation conducts practical training in the preservation and management of UNESCO cultural heritage sites in Bulgaria.

Stobi celebrates Conservation of Theodosian Palace Stobi celebrates the conservation of the Theodosian Palace (4th–6th c. CE) with ministerial visitors and international partners.

Don't miss the opportunity:
Thursday, April 23, 2026,
1 pm New York (EDT), 6 pm London, UK (GMT), 8 pm Sofia, Bulgaria (EET)

ONLINE lecture:
Foreigner in the Kitchen: the Untold Story of the Mobile Cooking Supports (Lasana) from Emporion Pistiros, by Dr. Emil Nankov
(Deputy Director of the National Archaeological Institute with Museum, BAS

LINK for registration: https://www.bhfieldschool.org/bema-online-seminars/foreigner-in-the-kitchen-the-untold-story-of-the-mobile-cooking-supports-lasana-from-emporion-pistiros?

This presentation reinterprets a morphologically distinct group of ceramic objects from the site of Adzhyiska vodenitsa, near the town of Vetren, Bulgaria, identified as emporion Pistiros, whose archaeological significance has long been overlooked due to their lingering identification as tuyères de soufflet or “bellow’s nozzles”. They were employed by earlier scholarship as archaeological evidence serving the scholarly discourse about Pistiros as a metallurgical centre. An increasing number of comparanda from Greek apoikiai on the West and North Black Sea coasts, Magna Graecia, Western Mediterranean, Asia Minor have conclusively shown that these objects are better understood as mobile cooking supports or kitchen props known from the written sources as chytropodes or lasana. The spatial distribution of these objects at Pistiros is often associated with the earliest residential features, the so-called dug-out dwellings or subterranean huts, dated to the first half of the 4th century. BCE. Their number has recently increased due to new discoveries originating from sealed deposits of domestic waste from the Classical period.
There is a Field School dedicated to this project: https://www.bhfieldschool.org/program/ancient-greek-excavations-pistiros

For information on the BEMA series, including upcoming seminars, please see
https://bema-archaeologyprogram.nbu.bg/en/bema-online-seminars

Metal objects carry human history within their structure. They preserve traces of ritual, daily use, craftsmanship, belief, trade, and identity. What appears as corrosion is not only deterioration, but a visible record of time, formed slowly on the surface.
Preserving them means reading history in its most vulnerable form. Each layer of corrosion, each trace of wear, is part of a story that can still be lost if not carefully understood and protected.
For over 5 years now, the Balkan Heritage Field School, in collaboration with the Ionian University, has offered a specialized metal conservation program. Join now, there are still a few spots available: https://www.bhfieldschool.org/program/workshop-for-conservation-of-metal

Participants work directly with metal artifacts while learning documentation, restoration techniques, and preventive conservation strategies.
Alongside practical work, lectures and study visits connect science with heritage, including excursions to the Ecclesiastical Museum of St. Dionysius.

Books, paper, the written word, these are among the most powerful tools humanity has ever created. They carry memory, identity, and knowledge across generations. From the earliest handwritten manuscripts to today’s printed editions, books have shaped societies, built cultures, and connected people across time and place. They have preserved the voices of great thinkers, told stories of love and loss, recorded discoveries, and guided entire civilizations.
Countless works have already vanished, while others survive only thanks to conservators who stabilize damaged pages and handle delicate materials every day.

Our specialized paper conservation workshop at the Ionian University in Zakynthos, Greece, offers hands-on experience in preserving books and archives.

There are still a few places available. Join us and take part in protecting the written heritage: https://www.bhfieldschool.org/program/workshop-for-interventive-and-preventive-conservation-of-paper

https://www.bhfieldschool.org/program/conservation-course-historic-textiles-paper-metal

Balkan Heritage Foundation&Department of Archaeology at the New Bulgarian University are pleased to invite you to the online lecture:

Foreigner in the Kitchen: the Untold Story of the Mobile Cooking Supports (Lasana) from Emporion Pistiros, by Dr. Emil Nankov
(Deputy Director of the National Archaeological Institute with Museum, BAS

Thursday, April 23, 2026,
1 pm New York (EDT), 6 pm London, UK (GMT), 8 pm Sofia, Bulgaria (EET)
LINK for registration: https://www.bhfieldschool.org/bema-online-seminars/foreigner-in-the-kitchen-the-untold-story-of-the-mobile-cooking-supports-lasana-from-emporion-pistiros

This presentation reinterprets a morphologically distinct group of ceramic objects from the site of Adzhyiska vodenitsa, near the town of Vetren, Bulgaria, identified as emporion Pistiros, whose archaeological significance has long been overlooked due to their lingering identification as tuyères de soufflet or “bellow’s nozzles”. They were employed by earlier scholarship as archaeological evidence serving the scholarly discourse about Pistiros as a metallurgical centre. An increasing number of comparanda from Greek apoikiai on the West and North Black Sea coasts, Magna Graecia, Western Mediterranean, Asia Minor have conclusively shown that these objects are better understood as mobile cooking supports or kitchen props known from the written sources as chytropodes or lasana. The spatial distribution of these objects at Pistiros is often associated with the earliest residential features, the so-called dug-out dwellings or subterranean huts, dated to the first half of the 4th century. BCE. Their number has recently increased due to new discoveries originating from sealed deposits of domestic waste from the Classical period.

There is a Field School dedicated to this project: https://www.bhfieldschool.org/program/ancient-greek-excavations-pistiros

For information on the BEMA series, including upcoming seminars, please see
https://bema-archaeologyprogram.nbu.bg/en/bema-online-seminars

Have you ever wondered how the breathtaking textiles you see in museums are actually preserved? How fragile, centuries-old fabrics are carefully brought back to life?

This summer, step behind the scenes and discover the craft of textile conservation on the stunning Greek island of Zakynthos.

The Workshop for Conservation of Textile, hosted by Ionian University, offers a rare opportunity to learn directly inside a professional conservation lab. Through a dynamic mix of lectures, hands-on practice, and site visits, you’ll work and learn how to preserve textiles while exploring their history and special technology.
From fiber identification and cleaning techniques to documentation and restoration, the program combines science, history, and craftsmanship. You’ll even visit the Ecclesiastical Museum of St. Dionysius to see conservation in context.

Join us, spots are limited: https://www.bhfieldschool.org/program/workshop-for-conservation-of-textile

BONA MANSIO - Roman Road Station on Via Diagonalis
One of our favorite field schools is returning in 2026!
Tucked away in the Thracian Valley between ancient Serdica (Sofia) and Philippopolis (Plovdiv), Bona Mansio (Latin for "Good Station") was once a vital stop along the most important road through the Roman Balkans—the Via Diagonalis (also known as Via Militaris). This 1,000 km artery connected the Danube River at Singidunum all the way to Byzantium, the future capital of the Eastern Roman Empire. Armies marched it. Emperors traveled it. And at this very spot, travelers rested, traded, and found refuge.
Originally built on the site of an older Thracian settlement called Lissa, Bona Mansio was transformed in the 4th century CE into a fortified road station, an irregular quadrangle with massive walls and corner towers, built to protect those passing through. Today, those walls still stand, rising up to 4 meters high, watching over a cultural deposit that plunges 3 meters deep into the earth.
Since 2016, excavations have focused on the fortified settlement that served as the administrative and residential heart of the complex during the 4th-6th centuries CE. Each season brings new discoveries, new stories, and new fragments of a world that once thrived along this imperial highway.
In 2026, the field school returns!
Apply now, spots are limited: https://www.bhfieldschool.org/program/roman-excavations-bona-mansio

The Secrets of the Ancient Ceramics
The most distinctive and informative discoveries in the necropolis of Apollonia Pontica are the ritual fireplaces. Located next to the graves, these fireplaces hold the remains of ceremonies that took place probably after the burial, moments when the living returned to honor their dead.
Typical vessels found inside the graves include the slender lekythos, used for perfumed oils and often placed near the head or body. Drinking cups appear regularly - the wide kylix associated with wine and the symposium, and the deeper kantharos sometimes linked to Dionysian symbolism. Small unguentaria held precious scented substances, while plates and bowls occasionally contained food offerings.
These contexts are extremely valuable archaeologically. From each grave and each fireplace, researchers can reconstruct the set of vessels used during the rituals, the types of food consumed, and the sequence of actions during the ceremonies. Together, they reveal the beliefs about the afterlife and the personal connections between the living and the dead.
By joining our field school: Workshop for Conservation of Ancient Greek Pottery (https://www.bhfieldschool.org/program/ancient-greek-pottery-conservation-course) students will have the unique opportunity to work with original vessels from the Apollonia Pontica necropolis and contribute directly to enriching the museum collections. Most of their work eventually finds its place in museum exhibitions, where these restored pieces can speak to visitors across centuries.

✨ Нов подкаст епизод! (Линк в коментарите)

🎧 Слушайте ЕП 25 • Ловци на фрески • С участието на Ivan Vasilev, основател и изп. директор на фондация „Балканско наследство“ - Balkan Heritage Foundation.

📨 Невидимата крепост достига до слушателите основно по имейл, така че не пропускайте да се абонирате за имейл бюлетина на подкаста. (От същия линк в коментарите)

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ЛОВЦИТЕ СЕ ИЗКАЧВАТ по кози пътеки, по време на планински преходи, „въоръжени“ с фотоапарати, за да документират стенописите на средновековни църкви и манастири.

В този епизод на Невидимата крепост ще се отправим към региона на р. Нишава, от двете страни на българо-сръбската граница, защото именно там се провежда експедицията за „лов на фрески“ като част от Balkan Heritage Field School на фондация „Балканско наследство“. Вече над 15 години, уникалният ѝ формат съчетава прецизността на научно-изследователска задача с ентусиазма на теренно обучение.

За да разберем кои са ловците и как „ловят“ фреските, поканих Иван Василев, основател и изп. директор на фондация „Балканско наследство“. Той е ерудиран събеседник с интереси по средновековна археология, история на Балканите и история на изкуството на християнския изток.

В епизода говорим за:

✅ Очарованието на средновековното християнско наследство от двете страни на граница със Сърбия.
✅ Даваме идеи за ревитализация на този, иначе позападнал регион.
✅ Говорим още за нови технологии за документиране на стенописи.
✅ За ентусиазмът на участниците (и кога той отсъства), както и за неочакваните плодове от практиката.

Приятно слушане!

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На снимката: Петър Петров (ляво) и Иван Василев (дясно) в Mansa Studio, София.