Archaeological studies point to an older history of the Gushov monastery

New archaeological studies of the Gushov monastery near Chiprovtsi point to the earlier history of the holy abode. After carrying out several drillings and stratigraphic observations around the church of the monastery, numerous fragments of wall paintings with quite serious preserved images were discovered. Thanks to the wall paintings and their subsequent research, it was established that the monastery complex may not be from the 17th century, but with a much earlier date, he explained to Radio VIDIN Miroslav Markov, chief curator of the historical museum in Chiprovtsi and head of the study:

“The Gushov Monastery is one of the oldest monasteries from the Renaissance period here – in the Chiprovtsi region… In general, the data we had was that the Gushov Monastery was from the 17th century. But the 17th century turns out to be the time, in which the monastery was destroyed. It is also known the exact year – during the riots and suppression of the Chiprovsky uprising… What we started last year is a study about the remains of the monastery. The patron saint of the church is Michael, and thanks to the studies we have quite good results with the scientific goals we set, namely information related to the architecture of the site, information about the presence of the necropolis in the vicinity, the way the church was covered, isography and stratigraphic study of the surrounding terrain… In the drillings we did , many fragments of the church’s frescoes were found, and with quite seriously preserved images… Thanks to the frescoes, it was established that, based on the painting technique and the colors of paints they used, it is a much earlier church painting and wall painting, which speaks of a much earlier dating of the entire monastery complex and specifically in the church.”

During one of the excavations in the church, a bronze Turkish coin from the time of Selim II – from the 16th century – was discovered. It is from this period that data on the existence of the monastery will be sought, he added Miroslav Markov:

“Precisely a very precise date from which we must look for the existence of the church and the monastery in the future. In one of the excavations in the church, a small bronze coin was discovered – a Turkish ahche from the time of Selim II, which is precisely dated 1564-1567. That is, this is a very precise year from which we are looking for the development and existence of the monastery… The localization of the necropolis will be one of our main goals in the upcoming archaeological season, as well as the study of residential buildings from the monastery complex located east of the church. Thus, with the new goals and tasks we have set ourselves, we will be able to acquire a more closed picture, which will give much more results and data related to the dating of the monastery… Based on the data we have from last year and compared with numerous studies of the monastery throughout the country, mainly on the frescoes, we are so sure that we have enough evidence that the initial date of the existence of the monastery complex must be sought long before the 15th century…”

The site’s new archaeological season begins in the fall. To start the research, funding has been secured from the Chiprovtsi Historical Museum, funds are also expected from the Ministry of Culture, from where they financed the team’s work last year.

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