Syrian Immigrants in Ancient Odessos:

The Monastery at Djanavara Hill on the Black Sea Coast

The mosaics in the monastery at the Djanavara Hill archaeological site in present day Varna,
Bulgaria, and mosaics found in early Christian churches in present day Syria, Israel, and Jordan have a
shared cultural relationship. Their craftsmanship, materials, and imagery are among the traits that
represent this connection. This paper explores the commonly accepted dating of the site and the potential
link between the immigrant craftsmen of the Djanavara mosaics to Syrian communities in or beyond the
Roman frontiers.
The monastery at Djanavara Hill is generally believed to be a 5th – 6th century early Christian
church that contains unique mosaics and is of unusual construction. The uncommon floor plan of the
church is made up of a single-nave edifice with four rectangular two-storied premises projecting north
and south of it, a short narthex, a colonnaded atrium, and a semicircular apse, which is not projecting out
of the church as is typical of all other churches on the Balkans. In addition to the peculiarity of the
construction, the church contained a set of three reliquaries of marble, silver, and gold, which held the
bones of an unknown saint, possibly the church’s patron. The church also contained a synthronon,
indicating it was a possible Episcopal seat in the region. The stunning mosaics at the site are made up of
marble, limestone, gneiss, and terracotta: showing numerous designs and practices of tesserae involving
different colors. According to Professor Aleksander Minchev of the Varna Regional Museum of History,
“the mosaics were executed simultaneously by at least two masters or groups of artisans, which used
different patterns when decorating the room floors.” The mosaics depict geometric patterns with erudite
borders made up of various flora and fauna, though the chalices depicted in one of the mosaics are rare.
Minchev, who excavated the site in 1997 and 2007, believes that the mosaics should be dated to the
beginning of the 6th century A.D.
In the 5th and 6th century there was a large Syrian religious community in ancient Odessos. This
community was part of a pattern of emigrants from the region, and is confirmed through numerous grave
inscriptions that mention rich merchants, ship-owners, and Christian priests of eastern origin. The
impact of this immigrant community leaving Syria, possibly due to persecution, and injecting their skill
into the material culture of ancient Odessos heightened the art of Bulgarian mosaics.
In addition to research in the written sources, the author’s fieldwork and participation in the
excavation of the monastery at Djanavara Hill in 2017 and creation of a virtual heritage site for the
monastery is the basis of the exploration and analysis of the shared cultural relationships between the
Syrian immigrants in Odessos and Syrian communities in and beyond the Roman frontiers. As more
mosaics are ripped out of the ground and sold on the black market by Islamic State each day, the
importance of studying these mosaics and their impact is critical.