Kovachevsko kale: A Roman Fortified City in Bulgaria
Site at a Glance
- Rating
- 4.3
- Popularity
- Low
- Country
- Bulgaria
- Primary era
- Classical
- Eras represented
- Classical
- Civilizations
- Roman
- Site type
- City
On this page8 sections
History
Kovachevsko kale is a Roman city in Bulgaria, founded in the early fourth century near the village of Kovachevets, about 6 km west of Popovo. Its principal fortifications were built between AD 308 and 324, during the joint rule of Constantine I, also known as Constantine the Great, and Licinius. The city formed part of the Roman response to the Gothic Wars, conflicts between Rome and the Goths that had continued through the third century.
Foundation and Roman fortification
The city occupied more than 40 hectares on flat ground naturally protected by rivers. Its defensive walls were constructed during the reigns of Constantine and Licinius, creating a fortified urban centre with a roughly triangular plan. This major building phase followed the Gothic Wars of AD 250–269 and established the physical framework of the Roman settlement.
Destruction and abandonment
Kovachevsko kale was burned during the Second Gothic War, the later Roman-Gothic conflict of approximately AD 376–382. The settlement was gradually restored after the destruction, but the rebuilding did not secure its long-term survival. Around AD 447, invasions led by Attila the Hun, the fifth-century ruler of the Huns, affected the site. Kovachevsko kale was finally destroyed by the Slavs and Avars in the 580s and abandoned in the late sixth century.
Archaeological identification
Excavations by Veliko Tarnovo University “St. Cyril and St. Methodius” revealed a large fourth-century Roman building inside the fortified area. It appears to have been a granary, although excavation of the structure is incomplete. The Czech archaeologist Karel Škorpil referred to the fortress as Kovachoveshko kale, adopting the name of the nearby village, which was then called Kovachevets.
Remains
The surviving site is ruined, but its overall arrangement can still be understood from the fortified enclosure and the remains of its internal infrastructure. The city was enclosed by massive walls on flat terrain, with rivers providing natural protection. The walls followed a roughly triangular plan and incorporated U-shaped towers and two gates.
Walls, towers, and gates
The defensive walls were approximately 3.20 m thick and were reinforced by 17 U-shaped towers. Two entrances served the enclosure, one on the western side and another on the northeastern side. Together, the walls, towers, and gates defined the principal surviving structure of the Roman city.
Probable granary
The excavated Roman building measures more than 60 m by 25 m, although its full extent remains underground. It had two stories and a basement, with a massive double door 2.4 m wide. Its walls were 1.3 m thick and strengthened by external buttresses. The building used opus mixtum, a Roman masonry technique combining brick and stone. Its form indicates that it was probably a horreum, a storage building used as a granary or warehouse. It was plundered and burned around AD 378, probably during the Gothic attack.
Water supply and inscription
An underground aqueduct supplied the fortress with drinking water through clay pipes. The system descended from the northwest over several kilometres from Kalakoch Hill. An undeciphered Latin inscription was found outside the northern wall, adding written evidence to the archaeological remains of the settlement.
Nearby sites
