Pieces of History
More than a decade ago, archeologists in Sozopol stumbled upon something that they were hoping to find. Just a few metres away from the Doctor’s House and right above the nearly 13-metre-tall cliff known to locals as Gadzheli, they uncovered the remains of the Northen Tower which had stood at the end of the northern fortification wall of Medieval Apollonia. “The town’s inhabitants”, archeologists explain, “used to observe sea traffic from up there and kept a careful watch for any potential enemy attacks against the auxiliary port located in close proximity.”
To the west, the harbour was cleverly situated in between two present-day islands, St. Ivan and St. Kirik (today a breakwater connects the latter to the mainland), while to the east it was naturally protected by the Palikari underwater reef (which bears the same name as the sphynx-like rock that still stands tall in the sea). In the 4th century, Apollonia was known as a busy trading hub where ships with precious cargo of grain, olive oil or wine used to drop anchor.
In calm waters (despite its beneficial location between two islands and an underwater reef, the port was nonetheless subjected to numerous raging Black Sea storms), one could pass through the gate of the Northern Tower and climb down a small wooden scaffold that led to the auxiliary port. Alas, there is no trace of this medieval harbour today. Yet, if you get to the lowest point of the cliff beach, right underneath the Northern gate, you will notice that the rock is covered with small unevenly shaped stones glued together with what looks like mortar. “Is it possible that these stones too are hundreds of years old and had once paved the way to the medieval harbour?” Archeologists don’t seem to have a definitive answer to this question.
Unfortunately, the larger part of the Northern fortification wall could not be restored as its foundations had been completely destroyed. Not through human negligence, but as a result of erosion or earthquakes. However, what has been uncovered so far is substantial and tells us stories from different epochs. The numerous fragments of ancient ceramics from the 4th-5th century BC that had been discovered here, give archeologists reason to believe that during antiquity, this seafront part of town had been home to an industrial quarter where luxurious ceramic goods were once crafted. A small medieval necropolis had also been uncovered during the excavations (11th-12th century) and researchers speculate that it stood close to a medieval church that had been erected on the other side of the present-day street of Morski Skali.
Anyone who has visited the Doctor’s House cannot help but appreciate the beauty of this ancient piece of land, as well as the power of the open sea deep beneath the rugged cliffs. They would have also felt the gusts of wind that within seconds can turn the smooth surface of the sea into a foaming mass of water furiously crashing against the stubborn cliffs. The ancestors of the present-day Sozopolians cleverly harnessed the power of this wind, and in the 19th century the vanes of a windmill ground grain here relentlessly. The windmill lasted until the beginning of the 20th century, where it can still be found in the black and white photographs that populate the family albums of local residents.
