The Center for Archaeometry with a laboratory for restoration and conservation was founded in 2003. It is a structural unit at Sofia University "St. Cl. Ohridski”, in which members of the Department of Archeology at the Faculty of History are engaged. It is located in Sofia and specializes in various analytical non-invasive studies of archaeological materials, art monuments and studies for the reconstruction and restoration of archaeological artifacts made of metal, glass, ceramics, bone, etc. The center is active regionally (Sofia) and nationally level with academic and research institutions, the Ministry of Culture and is in cooperation with the EU organizations through a number of research projects.
ARCHAEOLOGICAL MATERIALS: Characterization, analysis and origin of archaeological materials
ENVIRONMENT: Studies for the reconstruction of the paleo- and archeo-environment.
NEW TECHNOLOGIES: Use of new technologies for cultural heritage research.
INFRASTRUCTURE:
Laboratory for sample preparation
Laboratory for restoration and conservation of metal and glass
Laboratory for restoration and conservation of ceramics
Radiographic laboratory equipped with Eresko MF4
Analytical laboratory (µ-XRF –Mistral M1 Bruker, p-XRF-S1 Titan Bruker, p-IR-ALFA I- Bruker, Raman Spectroscopy Bravo, Bruker)
Laboratory of Dendrochronology
Microscopes - 3, Optika Italy
Metallographic microscope with Kern Optics camera
Faro laser scanner, FocusS 70
Scanning robotic total station Trimble SX10
RESEARCHERS:
Dr. Velislav Bonev (manager)
https://authors.uni-sofia.bg/AuthorPublications.aspx?id=b09184a3-04d9-4d9a-8e55-af2d1c06bcd3
Chief Assistant Prof. Dr. Boika Zlateva
PhD student Violeta Karailieva
PROJECTS:
The Armor of the Thracian Wars: A Comprehensive Interdisciplinary Study of Bronze Protective Weapons from Thrace
Hidden localities and famous finds: geoarchaeological research in the valley of the Matnitsa River, Southwestern Bulgaria
Landscape archeology: models for the reconstruction of the ancient living environment
Elemental composition of metal artefacts from the Thracian city in Sboryanovo near Isperih, RIM Razgrad and RIM Ruse
Archeology of raw materials: chemical and geological analyzes
Composition of metal belt accessories from the Great migration period of the people
Developing Radiation Treatment Methodologies and New Resin Formulations for Consolidation and Preservation of Archived Materials and Cultural Heritage Artefacts (IAEA, Wien, Austria)
Creation of a specialized electronic library for research and identification of artistic artifacts in order to preserve the Bulgarian cultural heritage
Archaic stone architectural decoration by Apollonia Pontica
Center for localization and experimental reconstruction of ancient roads and habitats through the methods of spatial analysis and archaeometry
Application of Analytical Chemistry Methods for Quantification of Neutron Tomographic data from Cultural Heritage Objects (IAEA, Wien, Austria)
Technological achievements and paleodiet of the people from the Greek colonies on the Bulgarian Black Sea coast
Chemical composition of glasses from the Roman and post-Roman era from Southeastern Bulgaria
Archaeometric analysis of mortar from the pre-Roman and Roman times in the Bulgaria
Archaeometric study of the gold finds from the Varna Eneolithic necropolis and identification of the gold sources
Creation of forecast models for identification of archeological sites along the Bulgarian Black Sea coast in GIS environment
Project “INFRAMAT”, distributed research infrastructure of the National Roadmap for Scientific Infrastructure (https://inframat.bg/)
Center of Excellence “NASLEDSTVO.BG” (https://www.nasledstvo.bg/)