Brief
Roman child's grave in Bulgaria yields gold earrings and ancient coin
The find offers a rare glimpse into Roman funerary customs and the practice of placing a coin for the afterlife.
By Felo News Desk · Published
Archaeologists working on a site survey for a new apartment complex in Stara Zagora, Bulgaria, uncovered a Roman child's grave containing gold earrings and a bronze antoninianus coin, Popular Science reported on Oct. 19, 2026.
What happened
The burial is one of roughly 135 graves in a cemetery that lay outside the ancient city of Ulpia Augusta Traiana, the Roman name for modern Stara Zagora. The child’s grave was discovered during preparatory work for a parking garage. The gold earrings were described as "stunningly preserved," and the coin was identified as an antoninianus minted in either 274 or 275 CE.
What the report adds
Popular Science notes that the cemetery was used for nearly three centuries, and that the region of Thrace was annexed by Rome in 46 CE, later becoming a major urban centre with its own mint in the second and third centuries. The coin’s precise dating provides a narrow window for the child’s death, likely around 274‑275 CE.
What was said
The article explains that, according to ancient Greek and Roman funerary beliefs, the coin may have been placed with the deceased as payment to Charon, the ferryman who escorted souls across the river Styx.
How it came about
The find follows a long history of Roman remains surfacing in Stara Zagora, where ruins are regularly uncovered beneath the modern city. The cemetery’s location outside the original city walls reflects Roman burial practices that kept the dead separate from the living population.
Key facts
- The grave contained gold earrings and a bronze antoninianus coin. (popsci.com)
- The coin dates to either 274 or 275 CE. (popsci.com)
- The burial is one of about 135 graves in the Roman cemetery near Stara Zagora. (popsci.com)
- Stara Zagora was known as Ulpia Augusta Traiana in Roman times. (popsci.com)
- The coin may have been placed as payment for the afterlife according to Roman belief. (popsci.com)
Sources
- [1] popsci.com — originally reported as “Roman child’s grave contains coin to pay afterlife entry fee”
