The collection is dedicated in connection with the archaeological survey of the "Kalyat" fortress near Yakoruda, which began in 2007 and continued intermittently until 2021 under the leadership of ch. Assistant Professor Mariela Inkova, PhD. Covers movable cultural values with a wide chronological scope related to the habitation of the locality:
ceramic fragments of the "Axe" type /1/, among which portable altars, spindle vertebrae, fibulae, dated 2rd - 2st centuries BC, preceding the construction of the fortress /2/; late antique, related to its functioning as a fortified settlement of the local population - mainly household items /2c, 3c/ and of practiced crafts: kitchen ceramics /4a/, pitos /5/, brazier (barbecue) /7/, frying pan, lid of pot /8/, spindle spines, knives, whetstones, sheep shears, clappers, vertical loom weights, spindle spines, thimbles with a bird image /9/, trowel with mortar stuck to it /10/ , clothing accessories – buckles /11, 6, 12/, appliqués /13/, fibulae, fragments of a wooden chest with bone appliqués and metal fittings /14/ and weapons, among which stand out iron pikes /15/, a spearhead /70/, arrowheads, umbo of a shield /XNUMX/, dated to the XNUMXth century. The burning of the fortress, probably during the Slavic-Avar invasion in the area of the Struma and Mesta rivers in the XNUMXs led to a hiatus, due to which lacks monuments from the next few centuries.
The medieval artifacts in the collection reflect the resumption of life in the fortification during the XI /8/ first half of the XIII century, when a new fire interrupted the habitation. Objects related to carpentry /16/, animal husbandry, household ceramics, spindle vertebrae, ornaments, etc. predominate. /17,18,19/. A collective find with 6 crosses deserves attention. The objects of value to the population were probably hidden in a pot of rye seeds. Among them there are elements of a church polyeleum or polycandelon /20/ and pectoral reliquary crosses with the image of the pair of twin saints St. Vlasius - St. George /21/ and St. Dimitar - St. Nicholas, patrons of agriculture /22/.
Traces of the coin circulation of the fortress from the XNUMXrd - XNUMXst century BC, the XNUMXth century and the XNUMXth - the first half of the XNUMXth century are kept in the "Numism and Sphragistics" collection.
