Sostra Fortress

The Sostra Fortress is located near the village of Lomets, Troyan district (Central Bulgaria). This is best protected Roman military post in Bulgaria and is a unique monument within the entire Roman Empire because of its architecture. Sostra was built over the ruins of a Thracian settlement and it was a fortification of a military cohort of 1000 people. The settlement was situated at the important ancient road Exos – Philipopolis (today’s Plovdiv) – connecting the connecting the Roman provinces Lower Moesia and Thracia. It was explored for the first time by the Austro-Hungarian archeologists Felix Philipp Kanitz in the second half of 19th century. The complex embraced a quite well fortified military unit, called castel (castle) or a fortress, a few civil settlements, necropolis or this was a small Roman town that lived from the middle of 2nd century till the end of 5th century. Its name derives from the Greek work “sostrum”, meaning a bandage or a waist-band and this perfectly describes Sostra, as it lay in a valley of the River Ossum, blocking unchecked access to the roads leading to Phillipopolis. The fortress shaped as diamond has the impressive dimensions of 130 by 130m. The fortress walls, having sunk two meters in the ground, are presently uncovered. A number of coins carried partially protected information were found in Sostra. A part of the coins are proved to date from the Second Bulgarian Kingdom. The earliest however are the Hellenic coins. Antique pottery and jewelry, some of which being highly appreciated at the international cultural market were also found here. Everything found so far, was completely restored and exhibited in the Historical - craft museum of Troyan, except of the bronze mask, which is exhibited in the National Museum of History in Sofia.

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