Bulgarian Archaeologists 'Looking for Constantine the Great Statue'

A team of Bulgarian archaeologists is pinning its hopes on discovering a host of Roman-era artifacts as excavations are underway under the St Nedelya Square in downtown Sofia.

Those include a statue of Roman Emperor Constantine the Great (306-337 AD), a massive Roman building, and some inscriptions.

The St Nedelya Square, now used as a parking lot for the Sofia Hotel Balkan in the Bulgarian capital's downtown area, is thought to have been the place of the Roman forum of Serdica, an Ancient Thracian and subsequently a Roman city.

Lead archaeologist Assist Prof Veselka Katsarova is quoted by daily Dnevnik as saying "the Forum for sure had a statue of the ruling Roman Emperor at the time."

Just next to the St Nedelya (Holy Sunday) Church is the area where the so-called Sofia Largo, packed with Neo-Stalinist buildings, was built in the 1950s, on top of remains from the Roman era.

The small research archaeologists were allowed back then before construction began has fuelled much speculation ever since, with some claiming the palace of Constantine is located near the St Nedelya Square.

The Sofia Municipality has contributed to the excavations with BGN 133 000 (EUR 68 000) in funding.