The early history of the Bulgars in Europe has yet to be discovered. More than a few mentions must be left by medieval historians to cover their political history or spiritual and material culture. Many of
the issues related to them have never been resolved positively. What does their
name mean? Where do they come from in Europe? What language did they speak? Archaeology
also needs help to fill the gaps in our knowledge. Being nomads, Bulgarians were archaeologically
invisible until the 8th century. The Bulgarian diaspora stretches from the
Middle Volga through the Ponto-Caspian steppes to the Balkan Peninsula, Central
Europe and Italy. It seems that parts of the “Gens Bulgarorum” participated in
the ethnogenesis of several European nations in the early Middle Ages, leaving
no trace. Typical of many nomadic tribes. But is that the case? Unlike many
other Eurasian nomads, Bulgars have a unique culture: they use an archaic type
of Runiform script. Its use has been limited to the religious sphere of life.
Therefore, it is not surprising that Pagan shrines and early cave churches are
the places where the best examples of Bulgarian Runiform calligraphy can be
seen.
It must be said that our knowledge of the
Bulgarian pagan sanctuary is also limited. The focus has always been on the
capital's cult buildings in Pliska, Preslav and Madara, of which today only
their foundations and stone altars remain. The regional pagan sanctuaries near
the village of Kraguy, Pleven region, in the Yaylata, Perperek and
the mountains of present-day northern Greece, near the towns of Drama, Syar and
Kavala, seem to have been neglected. To them can be added the cave sanctuaries
near the village of Tsarevets and the cave temple near Krepcha. Those are the places
where samples of Medieval Pagan art have been preserved, and those are the
places where Bulgarian religious beliefs and myths can be studied. Of course,
the very existence of these cult centres raises questions. Were the practice of carving scenes of myths and Runiform inscriptions on the Rocks’ surface and the
caves’ walls widespread on the territory of early medieval Bulgaria? Did the
Bulgars live in the Avar, and did the Khazar Khaganates practice this tradition?
The main problem of studies of Rock art has
always been dating. Although the three specific features of Bulgarian Pagan
art, a simple linear artistic style, explicit mythological content, and Runiform writing, make it easier to identify, dating such monuments
raises controversies. For example, although some authors identify the Rock art
from the village Kraguy as medieval, others dated it to the Neolithic and Bronze ages.
The same is the case with the Sitovo inscription. However, two very different but well-dated monuments: the Murfatlar Rock Complex and the Oxford Codex, allow the creation of a database of Bulgarian
Medieval Pagan art and make easy its identification. The search will be
limited to “Pagan” art and Runiform calligraphy from the Murfatlar complex.
According to researchers, the Murfatlar complex is a
Church Cave complex or even Monastery. Why search here for Pagan art and
Runiform calligraphy? An explanation has to be sought for the processes that
underline Bulgarian society during the use of the Murfatlar complex. According
to researchers, the first churches were dug in Murfatlar shortly after the conversion
to Christianity of Bulgarians in 864. However, Paganism, which has been
providing the worldview basis of Bulgarian society for almost two centuries, couldn’t be swept overnight. Its endurance was proved by the antichristian
revolt of 866 and the four-year rule of Vladimir-Rasate (889-893) when an
attempt was made for Pagan rites to be incorporated into Christian practices or
performed parallel with them. It is believed that the so-called “Time of double
faith” lasted during the life of the generation born during Heathen
times and took a Pagan oath. However, this transitional period lasted
in Murfatlar for 150 years. Materials there show that despite state officials
and church leadership efforts, old Pagan rites continued to be practised by
ordinary Christian clergy in such remote areas. The panels incised on Murfatlar
churches are typical for Pagan Rock art. Their plots can be understood only
with knowledge of Heathen myths. It is even hard to decide whether crosses were
carved with a passion for Christ or the Sun god. A comparison between the
earliest and late materials from the Complex shows that the transition from
Paganism toward pure Christianity went slowly and took the lifetime of several
generations. However, this transition was never completed. The Murfatlar Cave
Complex was abandoned during the Russian invasion at the end of the 11th
century and forgotten for almost 1000 years, thus preserving precious evidence
not only for the “Time of double fate” but for the Bulgarian Paganism, Runiform
writing and Protobulgarian language.
The Murfatlar Archaeological Site is located on
the north-western slope of Tibishirul Hill, near the village of Murfatlar,
Romania. It consists of a chalk quarry and a cave complex. The main goal of the
quarry was to provide material for part of the construction of the 59 km long
stone dike, stretching from the Danube to the Black Sea coast. According to
Romanian archaeologists, the cave complex contains 6 rock churches (B1, B2, B3,
B4, E3 and E5), two burial chambers (C1 and C2), 5 burial galleries (G1- G5)
and 4 rooms (E1, E2, E4 and E6)) [1]. Following
the analysis of the pottery found at Murfatlar, the complex was dated from the
mid-9th to the end of the 10th century (Atanasov G. 2010, p. 468)[2].
On the walls of the temples of Murfatlar is
preserved a unique mixture of Pagan and Christian suggests, Runiform, Cyrillic,
Greek and Glagolitic inscriptions. Biblical themes are limited to hundreds of
crosses of many different shapes, one scene of the Crucifixion of Jesus, and
several icons of Christian saints. But although it was discovered more than 60
years ago, many of the materials of this unique archaeological monument remain
unpublished to this day. Most of its decoration is known from amateur
photographs of low quality and sometimes not very carefully executed graphics.
Neither the Romanian society, to which the Murfatlar Religious Complex
physically belongs, nor the Bulgarian society, whose spiritual heritage it is
supposed to be, managed to cope with such a challenge. Bulgarian archaeologist
P. Georgiev, referring to the surprisingly large amount of pottery found there,
called it "the crime novel Murfatlar." However, the "crime"
in this "crime novel" occurred in the second half of the
20th century, when the monument perished slowly under the influence
of the forces of nature and human hands. Unfortunately, many of the unique
inscriptions and decorations of the buildings have long been lost without at
least being documented.
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