History

The fortress "Sostra" is actually a Roman military post, built over the ruins of a Thracian settlement. It is situated in 12 km. north of the town of Troian and 28 km. south of Lovech situatied on a relatively flat terrain in the valley of the Osam river.
The word "sostra" in ancient Greek means girdle, bandage, barrier. It's quite likely that the origins of the name "Sostra" has a meaning of something that blocks the valley. In geographic terms the location of the fortress is really a key point in the river valley (named by the Thracians "Azamus"), surrounded by the hills of Trapezitsa (550 m. over SL) in the north, a branch of the Mikre hills - Popina and Popinka (500 m. over SL) in the west and Sulashko stronghold (500 m. over SL) in the east. In the southern direction the valley continues seperating the lands of the villages Dalbok Dol and Dobrodan. The fortress is build near the influx of the Ladana river (Lomets river), which flows very close to the northern wall and Osam river, which flows about 500 m. from the eastern wall. The fortress itself has an altitude of 300 m. over SL. The whole valley has an area of about 4 sq. km. The eastern gate, which is the main face of the site "Kalugersko"and is the one and only thoroughfare towards the upper course of the Osam river.

Excavations begun just four years ago. In the fortress area were identified two towers, the headquarters, a storehouse for grain, the residences of the main officer and the lower rank officers, the barracks, the dwellings for the rest of the state officials and couriers, a graveyard and a network of streets. They are dated back to II - V cent. A.D. Currently under reconstruction are parts of the fortress walls, the main gate, one of the towers and all of the streets. The reconstruction works continues.

Analysis of the finds shows , that "Sostra" was a stronghold of a military cohort of about 1000 people and an important military unit on the ancient road Exos - Philipopolis (today accordingly: the village of Gugen on the Danube river bank - the city of Plovdiv), which was connecting the Roman provinces Lower Moesia and Thracia. Besides the fortress, parts of which are visible today, Sostra was actually a big roadside complex including a village situated outside of the fortress walls, whose inhabitants more than likely occupied with the maintenance of the camp, producing of weapons, delivery and trade of different supplies. Very typical in the Roman Empire was, that a creation of any kind of permanent military camp, results in concentration and settling of people around, drawn by the security and the trade posibilities.

Unfortunately in the end of V cent. A.D. the fortress and the village were demolitioned by the Huns and remained unsettled till the late Middle Ages and the beginning of the Bulgarian Renaissance, when new villages and fortified inns were build. The area of Sostra includes not only the fortress, but also craft quarter and a village named Vikus. The fortress itself has a rhombus shape with size 130x130 m. The walls nowadays are buried 2 m. in the ground, but they are gradually disclosing, due to the excavations. In the fortress were found about 30 silver Tetradrahmas coinaged on the island of Thasos and a bronze mask,

as well as a lot of antique pottery and decorations. Everything found so far, was completely restored and exhibited in the Historical - craft museum of Troian, except of the bronze mask, which can be seen in the National Museum of History in Sofia. It is considered to be a parade mask of a high rank Roman officer. It dates back to V-IV cent. B.C. There was found also an inscription in latin, consisting of 15 rows, which says that the Emperor Gallien (the 67th Roman Emperor 253 - 268 A.D.) garrisoned in Sostra the "Red Cohort". This inscription shows the efforts which Rome went to protect which is today Bulgarian territories from the invasion of the Ghotas in 251 A.D., where in a battle near todays town of Razgrad in Bulgaria they defeated the Roman army and killed the predecessor of Gallien - Emperor Decius.

It is quite amazing just how well preserved the walls and the columns are as they have been exposed to the elements for all this time . The reason is probably a combination of the standard Roman mortar (the so called Roman cement) and the local rock. The extraction and the shaping of the rocks was a major occupation for the local Thracian inhabitants in these days. The Roman cement is robust and its ingredients are still not totally clear. Just a few meters in from the fortress, at a location considered by the local inhabitants as a holy place, was found the basilica of Sostra.

The ambition of the Town Council of Troian is to have a restored fortress, which would become a popular place for cultural tourism. The main sponsors are the municipality of Troian, the National Museum of History and Rotary Club. About 4 decares of the surrounding ground was bought by the municipality. There is already an information board, signs for the tourists. Currently a complete infrastructure is being constructed, including a car/bus parking.
A production of a documentary film is already started.<
The idea is to complete the restoration within the year of 2008.

Photos

Visit

About 5 km. before the declination towards the village Dalbok Dol, on the main road Lovech - Troyan, there is a brown sign showing a small unpaved road (50 - 60 m. long)leading to a parking lot near the main gate.