Неизвестни средновековни стенописи от Анхиало
Unknown medieval mural fragments from Anchialus

Summary/Abstract: During digs (2012 ) at the medieval ne- cropolis in Palaiokastro (Παλιόκαστρο) locality of the ancient city of Anchialus (Αγχίαλος, now Pomorie), led by ar- chaeologist M. Daskalov, a number of fragments of wall paintings were un- earthed, which were later handed over to the Museum of History of Pomorie for keeping. The murals happened to get into the necropolis as a result of the demolition of a nearby church, re- maining undiscovered for the time be- ing, where those were laid as a token of deep respect.The condition of the fragments of the wall paintings, which consist of two painting layers, is poor, as they have been broken into many small pieces. The first layer (of the late tenth or the early eleventh century) dates to the days of Bulgarian domination over the region and includes fragments of a female face, most proba- bly the Most Holy Mother of God, a foot and two decorative elements. The sec- ond layer (of the late twelfth or the early thirteenth century) is of the Byzantine period and includes an image of a saint, hands put together for prayer, as well as a number of Greek letters from various inscriptions. In both cases we are talking about accomplished icon-painters, who were supposedly assigned right from the capital of Byzantium, Constantinople or who have at least been taught and have honed their skills at Constantinopolitan art workshops. It is most natural, given the specific geographical location of An- chialus: its location at the seaside and proximity to Constantinople, as well as the fact that the Ecumenical Patriarch in the end-twelfth century was born in An- chialus, which undoubtedly made it easy to enhance the relations with the Byzan- tine capital.

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