Ever since the famous Chatalar Inscription was discovered on the outskirts of Shumen, archaeologists had been losing sleep. It stated that Omurtag, a Great Khan of the Bulgarian Empire, has built a palace with tall stone columns there, decorated with lion sculptures. Large-scale archaeological excavations began, during which stone ruins were discovered. The ruins of the ancient palace matched the description in the previously mentioned inscription exactly. There could be little doubt that this was the place where the Great Khan of Bulgaria lived in the early 9th century.

The ancient Palace of Omurtag appeared as a powerful fortress occupying an area of a total of 20 hectares. There were various facilities on the site, including a royal bathhouse and the palace itself. The archaeologists also discovered the lion sculpture 1 meter high, just as the Chatalar Inscription said. There was also an ancient house of worship, where they would perform pagan ceremonial sacrifices of animals. This was evidenced by bones of dogs and rabbits, ritual jars and special striated stones that were used to pour blood into the jars.

The ruins of the Palace of Omurtag weren’t the oldest discovery that had been made during the excavations. There, archaeologists found earlier ruins of four ancient churches dating from the 3rd to 7th century. Scholars link the ruins to the settlement of Arian Gothic foederati who had peaceful relationships with Ancient Romans. It’s most likely that they were demolished as a result of successive Hunnic raids. Moreover, researchers unearthed several Gothic graves with chain mail and precious metal jewellery with gemstones.

The excavations of the Palace of Omurtag that began in the mid-20th century, go on to this day. Archaeologists are still discovering new artefacts, unearth more and more ancient ruins. But everything that has been discovered is open to the public, and all the valuable artefacts are displayed in the Regional History Museum in Shumen.