ARCHAEOLOGICAL MUSEUM

Opposite the Presidency of the Republic, the Museum of Archaeology was inaugurated in 1879 in an old Ottoman mosque of the ^15th century, a magnificent building that once housed a library. It presents the richest collection of archaeological objects of the Balkan peninsula. One discovers there vestiges of the paleolithic, with tools, weapons, of which a lance in flint, objects of the everyday life of which ceramics, but also bones of animals testifying to the presence, at this time, of the bear of the caves and lions with saber teeth. Do not miss the oldest drawing on stone in Europe, dated 50,000 years ago, nor the oldest fragment of engraved bone, more than a million years old. The treasure room, on the top floor, houses Thracian deposits of world importance - the thirteen pieces of the Valchitran (Pleven) gold treasure, the Lukovit (Lovetch) silver harness, the Nikolaevo (Pleven) gold jewelry and silver objects. In addition, there is a numismatic collection of more than 150,000 Thracian, Greek and Roman coins. The museum also houses a room dedicated to the Middle Ages which is mainly devoted to the Bulgarian kingdoms. There is a copy of the Madara horseman. It is the only copy in the museum, all other objects being originals. You can also see a collection of jewelry that belonged to members of the Bulgarian nobility, ceramic objects of everyday life and weapons. The Sofia Museum of Archaeology has a scientific research section.