The 19th anniversary of the founding of the National Anthropological Museum at the Institute of Experimental Morphology, Pathology, and Anthropology of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences was celebrated on March 19. During the event, the exhibition “Codes of Identity. The City of the Dead” by Sen. Asst. Prof. Rossen Gatsin, PhD, and Asst. Prof. Linda Ivanova was opened. The exhibition features anthropomorphic images carved in stone and non-canonical temple spaces as well as depictions of diseases. These are the result of field research covering over ten settlements across the country, primarily in Northwestern Bulgaria. Attendees had the opportunity to observe in real time how the 3D technology works and what the final product looks like.
The event was opened by the director of the NAM, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Atanas Katsarov. He welcomed the guests and presented the museum as a unique center of knowledge and preservation of cultural and historical identity as well as a place to attract young people who will open their hearts and minds to science.
The Director of IEMPAM-BAS, Assoc. Prof. Ivelin Vladov, delivered a speech in honor of the museum’s anniversary. Milena Dimitrova from the President’s Office delivered a greeting on behalf of President Iliana Iotova. The Vice-President of BAS, Prof. Shterionov, congratulated the scientists and highly praised the scientific value of the exhibition. “The City of the Dead” is not merely a metaphor, but a space for dialogue – between generations, between the personal and the public, between life and its traces, Prof. Sterionov said in his speech.
Prof. Galya Staneva, Scientific Secretary of the “Biomedicine and Quality of Life” Division, also attended the opening.
The exhibition’s creators emphasized the safeguarding of cultural and historical heritage in the settlements where the monuments were located by sparking interest in the intangible cultural heritage of local communities.
