page_title: Palace of Omurtag
section_title: Architecture
hierarchical_section_title: Palace of Omurtag / Bulgarian fort and palace / Architecture
caption_attribution_description: Български: План на aулът на хан Омуртаг. Копие на изображение в книгата "Формиране на старобългарската култура VI-XI век", Станчо Ваклинов, издателство "Наука и изкуство", София, 1977 година. English: Plan of the Palace of Omurtag. Copy of an image in the book "Formation of the Old Bulgarian Culture VI-XI Century", Stancho Vaklinov, Publishing House "Science and Art", Sofia, 1977.[1]
context_page_description: The Palace of Omurtag or Aul of Omurtag is an archaeological site in northeastern Bulgaria dating to Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages located near the village of Han Krum in Shumen Province. The site has been pinpointed as the location of a fort and palace of Omurtag, ruler of the First Bulgarian Empire in 815–831, as mentioned in the Chatalar Inscription of 822. Earlier structures in the vicinity of the fortress have been identified as the Arian episcopal see of a Gothic bishop.
context_section_description: The main feature of the archaeological site is the early-9th-century Bulgarian fortified rampart with Omurtag's palace within its limits. While much smaller than the fortifications of nearby Pliska, the fort at Han Krum resembles closely the defensive walls of the capital. The fortress, known to the locals as Hisar Kale (from Turkish, both words meaning "castle, fortress"), measures 405 m × 515 m (1,329 ft × 1,690 ft) and has an area of 0.2084 square kilometres (0.0805 sq mi). Several structures of the same age lay inside the fort; these included an inner fortification 92.5 m × 113.6 m (303 ft × 373 ft) in size and stone buildings of varying complexity, such as a three-roomed bath. The inner fort had its main entrance located in the eastern part. The buildings within the enclosure are thought to have served as a noble dwelling, i.e. a palace, though it is archaeologically uncertain whether they date to Omurtag's reign or to a later period. Balabanov theorizes that the fort accommodated a garrison commander and barracks.
  Fragments of a lion sculpture that was originally 1 m (3.3 ft) in height have been discovered inside the fort, prompting researchers to identify it with one of the two lions mentioned in the Chatalar Inscription. There are indications that a pagan sanctuary, where animal sacrifice was practiced, was also located at the site. Buried carcasses of rabbits and dogs, medieval vessels, and a plastered stone with rims and furrows allowing blood to flow to a pit all testify to that use.
  A fifth church at Han Krum, discovered by archaeologist Kremena Stoeva in 2009, is thought to date to the 10th century, the time after the Christianization of Bulgaria. It has three naves and three apses. It has been conclusively dated to that period based on the surrounding pottery, as well as its architecture.
caption: Plan of the Palace of Omurtag
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